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The Maiden

The Defiantly Feminist Historical Novel Longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction

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The Maiden

By: Kate Foster
Narrated by: Angus King, Paula Masterton, Samara MacLaren
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About this listen

This audio edition includes an exclusive conversation between narrator Paula Masterton and author Kate Foster.

'A masterpiece. A thrilling historical murder tale but so much more. Vivid, evocative and full of humanity' – Janice Hallett, bestselling author of The Appeal and The Twyford Code

Inspired by a real-life case and winner of the Bloody Scotland Pitch Perfect Award, 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 . . .

'Threat hangs over every page like the awaiting guillotine, but the women in this book gleam sharper. Witty, gritty and full of heart, their voices rise through the brutality and hardship of 17th century Edinburgh, battling to be heard' – Cari Thomas, bestselling author of Threadneedle

 Crime Fiction Family Life Genre Fiction Historical Mystery

Critic Reviews

The Maiden is a masterpiece. A thrilling historical murder tale but so much more. Vivid, evocative and full of humanity. (Janice Hallett, bestselling author of The Appeal and The Twyford Code)
This riveting debut novel by Kate Foster takes the true story of the murder [of James Forrester] and spins it into a mystery full of twists . . . The tension persists until the last page. (Antonia Senior)
Kate Foster expands the slender facts of the case into something exceptional — a tense, thrilling investigation, with a decidedly feminist slant.
Threat hangs over every page like the awaiting guillotine, but the women in this book gleam sharper. Witty, gritty and full of heart, their voices rise through the brutality and hardship of 17th century Edinburgh, battling to be heard (Cari Thomas, bestselling author of Threadneedle)
The language and pace of The Maiden is fluent and driving . . . I was quickly gripped. Offers to film Foster’s novel should follow if there’s any sense in this world . . . This is an extremely promising debut by Foster.
A gripping read with strong, compelling and unusual female characters - and a twisty plot that keeps the reader guessing. It cast a fresh light on a period of history when women have too often been seen merely as victims and brought them to life as protagonists in their own right (Sally Hinchcliffe, author of Hare House)
Inspired by a real-life case, this historical murder mystery fictionalises an infamous crime of passion. Kate Foster reimagines the lives of the women at the centre of the story and paints a vivid and fascinating picture of 17th century Edinburgh
Page-turning, transportive, funny, and tremendously moving, The Maiden is a book to lose yourself in - just make sure you don't have any plans, because once you start reading, you won't want to stop (Jenny Ashcroft, author of Under the Golden Sun and The Echoes of Love)
Brave, bold and at times deliciously indecent with vivid characters that leap from the page and demand attention. Kate Foster has such a fresh, exhilarating voice (Lizzie Pook, author of Moonlight and the Pearler's Daughter)
The Maiden is historical fiction at its finest. A true-life murder tale told thrilingly through the eyes of two very different women, yet both are fighting for their futures in a patriarchal world riven by hypocrisy (D. V. Bishop, author of City of Vengeance)
A fabulous book . . . The writing is exquisite and it felt like a rare treat – a story totally rooted in its time and place, but that speaks across the generations (Claire Evans, author of The Fourteenth Letter and The Graves of Whitechapel)
All stars
Most relevant
I really enjoyed this book and love the fact that it was inspired by and loosely based on a true story.

The authors ability to create characters with depth and personality really brought this story alive. I could easily see the story as if it was a movie.

Hopefully it gets picked up one day and made into a mini series.

Interesting and entertaining

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