Book Club: Hex by Jenni Fagan

Our next book choice is Hex by Jenni Fagan. It’s a work of historical fiction re-telling the true story of Geillis Duncan who was hanged as a witch in Edinburgh in 1591.

IT’S THE 4TH OF DECEMBER 1591.
On this, the last night of her life, in a prison cell several floors below Edinburgh’s High Street, convicted witch Geillis Duncan receives a mysterious visitor – Iris, who says she comes from a future where women are still persecuted for who they are and what they believe.
As the hours pass and dawn approaches, Geillis recounts the circumstances of her arrest, brutal torture, confession and trial, while Iris offers support, solace – and the tantalising prospect of escape.

Hex is a visceral depiction of what happens when a society is consumed by fear and superstition, exploring how the terrible force of a king’s violent crusade against ordinary women can still be felt, right up to the present day.

The Scotsman – Book review: Hex, by Jenni Fagan

Goodreads: Hex by Jenni Fagan