A Fire in Their Hearts: Philip Paris at Haddington Library
Join us at Haddington Library on Saturday, 8th November at 2 pm for a talk with Philip Paris, author of The Last Witch of Scotland, who will be discussing his new novel, A Fire in Their Hearts.
The talk will be followed by audience questions and a book signing.
Book your free ticket to attend via this page. You can also order copies of A Fire in their Hearts or The Last Witch of Scotland via this page.
EVENT DETAILS:
Copies will be available for delivery/collection from Night Owl Books. Alternatively, they can be collected from the signing table on the day of the event.
Please select 'local pick up' at the checkout if you would like to collect your copy/copies from Night Owl Books, or at the event. Alternatively, please select the 'ship' option and we'll post your book(s) to you.
Event times:
Event: 14:00 - 15:00, followed by signing.
Doors: 13:50.
Venue information:
Haddington Library, The John Gray Centre, Lodge Street, Haddington, East Lothian, EH41 3DX.
FAQs
- Will I be sent an e-ticket before the event?
Please note that we will have a guest list on the door on the day of the event, and you will not be sent an e-ticket for it - simply let us know your name/the name of the person who booked your ticket when you arrive, and we'll check you in!
- Can I collect my book at the event?
Copies can be collected on the day at the event, or alternatively if you would like to read the book before attending copies can be collected or posted to you in advance.
A note on Covid precautions: if you feel unwell on the day, please err on the side of caution, and please take a lateral flow test before attending, if you can.
About A Fire in Their Hearts:
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.
Hardback, 400 pages, published 2025.
About The Last Witch of Scotland:
Being a woman was her only crime.
Scottish Highlands, 1727.
In the aftermath of a tragic fire that kills her father, Aila and her mother, Janet, move to the remote parish of Loth, north-west of Inverness.
Blending in does not come easily to the women: Aila was badly burned in the fire and left with visible injuries, while her mother struggles to maintain her grip on reality. When a temporary minister is appointed in the area, rather than welcome the two women, he develops a strange curiosity for them that sets them even further apart from the community. Then arrives a motley troupe of travelling entertainers from Edinburgh, led by the charismatic but mysterious Jack.
It is just the distraction Janet, and particularly Aila, needs: for the first time in a long while, their lives are filling with joy and friendship, and a kind of hope Aila hasn't known since her father's death. But in this small community, faith is more powerful than truth, and whispers more dangerous even than fire. Haunting and deeply moving, The Last Witch of Scotland is a story of love, loyalty and sacrifice, inspired by the true story of the last person to be executed for witchcraft in Britain.
Perfect for fans of Outlander, The Mercies and The Witches of Vardo, or for anyone with an interest in the history of witchcraft, late renaissance Scotland and Highland history.
Paperback, 352 pages, published 2024.
About the author:
Philip Paris is originally from Gateshead, and now based in the Scottish Highlands. He is the author of nine extraordinarily wide-ranging books, including both fiction and non-fiction. His novels are often inspired by events or issues that have not been covered before in fictional form, such as his debut novel The Italian Chapel, about the chapel built by Italian prisoners of war in Orkney during World War Two. His non-fiction title on the same subject, Orkney’s Italian Chapel: The True Story of an Icon is recognised as the authoritative work on the history of the chapel.
In 2019 his contemporary fiction Men Cry Alone won the Scottish Association of Writers’ Barbara Hammond trophy, and in 2024 his novel The Last Witch of Scotland was chosen by Waterstones as its Scottish Book of the Year.