The Maiden by Kate Foster

 

The Maiden by Kate Foster.

Published in paperback 29th February 2024 by Mantle.

From the cover of the book:

Longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2024
Shortlisted for the CWA New Blood Dagger 2024
Winner of the Bloody Scotland Crime Debut of the Year 2023

Inspired by a real-life case, Kate Foster's The Maiden is a remarkable story with a feminist revisionist twist, giving a voice to women otherwise silenced by history.

In the end, it did not matter what I said at my trial. No one believed me.

Edinburgh, October 1679. Lady Christian is arrested and charged with the murder of her lover, James Forrester. News of her imprisonment and subsequent trial is splashed across the broadsides, with headlines that leave little room for doubt: Adulteress. Whore. Murderess.

Only a year before, Lady Christian was newly married, leading a life of privilege and respectability. So, what led her to risk everything for an affair? And does that make her guilty of murder? She wasn't the only woman in Forrester's life, and certainly not the only one who might have had cause to wish him dead . . .

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October 1679. In a storm of scandal, Lady Christian Nimmo, wife of a prosperous Edinburgh textile merchant is arrested and charged with the murder of her lover, Lord James Forrester. Branded an adulteress, murderess, and whore, how did this apparently respectable woman find herself under sentence of death for killing her womanising, wealthy uncle.

Inspired by this fascinating, real life case, Kate Foster reimagines what might have led Lady Christian to throw off strict societal bonds to become involved with a man linked to her own family, and to become embroiled in the mystery of his murder within the grounds of his grand family seat, Corstorphine Castle. The story covers the period between October 1678 and November 1679, and unfurls through the narratives of Lady Christian and a character called Violet, a prostitute from one of Edinburgh's brothels - with flashbacks to Christian's childhood, and fascinating snippets of articles from the Caledonia Broadside newspaper reporting on the trial.

Foster weaves the stories of these two women together to create a compelling, page-turner of a novel about power, passion, and female rage, set against the vivid backdrop of 17th century Edinburgh. With jaw-dropping skill, she plays off Christian (the entitled wealthy woman trapped in a loveless marriage and tempted into an ill-judged affair with her manipulative uncle), and Violet (the latest in a long line of Forrester's mistresses installed in the castle's turret) against each other in a contest that it takes them a while to learn the rules of. 

Christian and Violet carry the story in equal measure, and Foster writes them many glorious shades of grey, comparing and contrasting their life experiences and motivations, and delving into the fateful consequences of their decisions. The shocking history of Forrester's scheming plans is gradually revealed, while Christian's trial plays out in the present, and Foster keeps the suspense going nicely about her version of the hows, whys and wherefores of what led up to events on the day the despicable man died, and what the eventual outcome of the trial will be. There is also a delicious little twist that binds the women together, I really did not see coming. 

Within this beautifully written novel, Foster explores a whole host of intriguing themes about money, social position, secrets, false narratives, complicity, and the choices women are forced to make in order to survive. She examines female desire and knowledge about sex in terms of class and gender in a most thought provoking way too. And I loved how she injects so much meaning into her title, The Maiden, making it about so much more than the looming instrument of execution that appears on the book's cover.

This is an impressive debut, well worthy of its place amongst the titles longlisted for this year's Women's Prize for Fiction, and an absolute must read if you enjoy novels that explore the hidden stories of women in history. I cannot wait to get started on her second novel, The King's Witches (publishing on 6th June)!

The Maiden is available to buy now in hardcover, paperback, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Pan Macmillan for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

About the author:

Kate Foster has been a national newspaper journalist for over twenty years. Growing up in Edinburgh, she became fascinated by its history and often uses it as inspiration for her stories. The Maiden won the Bloody Scotland Pitch Perfect 2020 prize for new writers. She lives in Edinburgh with her two children.