The Burnings

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Inspired by an incredible true story, by a multi-awardwinning new star of historical fiction
1589. Scottish housemaid Geillis and Danish courtier Margareta lead opposite lives, but they both know one thing: when a man cries witch, no woman is safe.

Yet when the marriage of King James VI and Princess Anna of Denmark brings Geillis and Margareta together, everything they supposed about good, evil, men, and women, is cast in a strange and brilliant new light.

For the first time in history, could black magic or rumours of it be a very real tool for womens political gain

As the North Berwick witch trials whip Scotland and her king into a frenzy of paranoia, the clock is ticking. Can Margareta and Geillis keep each other safe And once the burnings are over, in whose hands will power truly lie

The Burnings is 2023s most bewitching debut novel, by the winner of two Northern Writers Awards and the HWA Dorothy Dunnett Competition 2021.

Reviews

A gothic gem. Tense, delicate writing. Lace woven with steel threads. Judges of the HWA Dorothy Dunnett Competition

The best new talent from the North of England . . . This years winners show that the next generation of creative talent has the potential to help us re-frame a post-pandemic world and better understand ourselves and our society. Katy Shaw, Partner in the Northern Writers Awards 2020

The Burningsis a beautifully written re-imagining of the North Berwick witch trials with clever and tantalising glimpses into the cross-over between witchcraft and lived experience in 16th-century Scotland. S.G. MacLean

Author Bio

Naomi Kelsey is the winner of two Northern Writers Awards and of the HWA Dorothy Dunnett Competition 2021. Her fiction has been published in Mslexia magazine and shortlisted for several further awards including the Bridport Prize and the Bristol Prize. She also writes book reviews for On the Tudor Trail. By day she is an English teacher in Newcastle, where she lives with her husband, their two children and their dog. The Burnings is her first novel.