Bitter Magic: Inspired by the True Story of a Confessed Witch
Nancy Hayes KilgoreBitter
Magic, inspired by the true story of Isobel Gowdie and her witchcraft
confession, reveals a little-known corner of history—the lives of both
pagan and Protestant women in the Scottish Reformation of the 1600s as
witch trials and executions threatened their lives, values, and beliefs.
The
story is told by Isobel herself and also by Margaret Hay, a
fictionalized seventeen-year-old noble woman. When Margaret stumbles
across Isobel one day, it seems as though Isobel is commanding the
dolphins in the ocean to dance. Margaret is enchanted. She becomes
interested in Isobel’s magic, in fairies, and in herbal remedies; Isobel
freely shares her knowledge. While Margaret worries that being around
Isobel could be dangerous, she also respects Isobel’s medical successes
and comes to believe that acknowledging the efficacy of herbal remedies
or believing in fairies does not challenge her Christianity.
But
Isobel believes in more than cheery fairies and herbal medicine. She
has dark wishes as well, unknown to most people. Isobel seeks vengeance
against the local lord who executed her mother for witchcraft. More
important, Isobel’s trance experiences (or are they dreams?) lead her to
confess to a wide range of sins, including consorting with the devil.
Then, during her trial, Isobel names thirteen others, calling them all
witches. To her great shock, Margaret hears her own name. Can her tutor,
a Christian mystic named Katharine, save them?