The Maiden

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What to expect

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

Critics Review

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.
The Times
Kate Foster expands the slender facts of the case into something exceptional — a tense, thrilling investigation, with a decidedly feminist slant.
Daily Mail
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.
The National
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
Yours magazine
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
An engrossing, sometimes chilling, read as Kate Foster's imaginative retelling of an old tale takes her colourful characters on a complex ride through the intrigues and prejudices of seventeenth century Scotland
Sarah Maine, author of The House Between Tides and The Awakenings
A pleasingly female-led re-imagining of true historical events, The Maiden brings 17th century Edinburgh vividly to life in all its colour and stink
Mary Paulson-Ellis, author of The Other Mrs Walker and Emily Noble's Disgrace
A brilliantly bawdy, fabulously feminist take on a real life tragedy. A beautifully written thriller full of all too human characters. I loved it!
Tina Baker, author of Call Me Mummy and Nasty Little Cuts
Hugely compelling and completely unputdownable. Every time you think you know where the book is going, Kate Foster surprises you. The characterisation and the narrative voice are both so assured
Katie Lumsden, author of The Secrets of Hartwood Hall
An unforgettably vivid and very human story that had me glued to its twists and turns from the very first page. A strong contender for my top reads of 2023 already. A must read slice of historical fiction
17 Degrees Magazine
This is a thrilling revenge tragedy, atmospheric, compelling and delivering everything a good historical novel should
Historical Novel Society
The Maiden triumphs in its portrayal of the fight to overcome not just class, gender, and society, but the wayward, and often dubious, inclinations of the heart.
The Saltire Society

User Reviews

Book 4.0
Narration 5.0
4.0
5.0
Tdk 16/04/2024

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