A gripping story' - The Scotsman
'A poignant love story suffused with a deep, moving humanity' - The Herald
'A memorable novel' - The Sunday Times
SCOTLAND, 1662.
Hunted, held prisoner and banished for a belief...
As civil war rages and King Charles II tightens his grip on the Church of Scotland, childhood sweethearts Violet and Samuel are swept into a violent struggle for religious freedom. They pledge their hearts to each other - and to a cause that will test their faith, courage and love beyond measure.
Hunted as rebels, imprisoned behind the walls of the infamous Greyfriars Kirkyard and torn from their homeland, Violet and Samuel are sentenced to a life of indentured servitude on the brutal sugar plantations of Barbados. But when their ship wrecks off the coast of Orkney, they become separated.
Alone and captive in a foreign land, Violet must summon every ounce of strength to survive the horrors she faces - and to cling to the hope that Samuel is still alive. Can love endure across oceans, through wars and captivity?
A Fire in Their Hearts is a powerful, epic tale of love, faith and survival, inspired by the extraordinary true events of the seventeenth-century Killing Times, by the bestselling author of The Last Witch of Scotland, Waterstones Scottish Book of the Year 2024.
'Heartfelt and devastating . . . Philip Paris's remarkable story-telling brings some of the darkest episodes in Scottish history memorably to light.'
S.G. MacLEAN, bestselling author of The Bookseller of Inverness
'An utterly heart-wrenching novel.'
FIONA VALPY, author of The Sky Beneath Us
'Touching and dramatic . . . A beautifully written page-turner. Highly recommended.'
ELISABETH GIFFORD, author of The Lost Lights of St Kilda PHILIP PARIS is the bestselling author of The Last Witch of Scotland, Waterstones' Scottish Book of the Year 2024 and Blackwell's Edinburgh Book of the Year 2023. His hugely varied work is often inspired by events or issues that have previously had little coverage. Men Cry Alone, a novel about domestic abuse against men, won the Scottish Association of Writers Barbara Hammond trophy in 2019, while his non-fiction book Orkney's Italian Chapel: The True Story of an Icon is recognised as the leading authoritative work on the history of the famous WW2 building. Scotland, 1662. Hunted, held prisoner and banished for a belief . . . From the author of Waterstones Scottish Book of the Year 2024 The Last Witch of Scotland comes this new historical novel. This new historical novel is meticulously researched and will appeal to lovers of Scottish history. PRAISE FOR THE LAST WITCH OF SCOTLAND
'Compelling, evocative, heart-wrenching. This beautifully written novel, populated by a vivid cast of characters, kept me gripped from start to finish. Highly recommended.' - FIONA VALPY, author of The Storyteller of Casablanca
'In Aila, Philip Paris has created a character of such defiance and vulnerability that any reader will be bewitched by her story.' - ELIZABETH LEE, author of Cunning Women
