Publishers Weekly
07/15/2024
The blistering latest from Aitken (The Island Child) gives voice to Alice Kyteler (1280–1325), the first Irish woman convicted of witchcraft. Aitken portrays Alice, who evaded her punishment by fleeing the country, as a formidable figure and nobody’s idea of a victim. Having inherited an inn and a banking and lending business from her father, Alice goes through four wealthy husbands, all of whom die suspiciously, before coming to the attention of an ambitious new bishop, who accuses her of witchcraft. Alice makes a beguiling heroine whose lust for money, power, and sex are constrained but never thwarted. Some of her actions are horrifying—she shoves one of her husbands down the stairs to his death, and fatally poisons another—but Aitken never wavers in portraying her humanity. Particularly striking are the depictions of Alice’s sorrow at the death of her young daughter and at the growing distance between her and her son. The novel moves through the decades in sharp, poetic vignettes told from Alice’s point of view, which are interspersed with commentary from a chorus of judgmental villagers (“I always thought there was something unnatural about her”; “Rich people are so odd”). It adds up to a fiercely intelligent and often surprising examination of a woman’s choices and their consequences. Agent: Hellie Ogden, WME. (Sept.)
From the Publisher
Blistering. . . . Beguiling. . . . A fiercely intelligent and often surprising examination of a woman’s choices and their consequences.” —Publishers Weekly
“Molly Aitken gives a powerful voice to Alice Kyteler, weaving a haunting and lyrical story from the strands of history. This was a beautiful, fascinating novel about an extraordinary woman that will linger in readers’ memories for a long time after they finish it.” —Jennifer Saint, author of Atalanta
“Aitken’s vivid prose cuts with an edge as sharp as Alice herself.” —Booklist
“An astonishing second novel after her brilliant debut, Molly Aitken takes Alice Kyteler—the first woman condemned as a witch in Ireland—and breathes life into a woman as gentle as a candle’s flame, and as destructive as an inferno. Lyrical and wildly imaginative, readers will love and fear Alice in equal measure and remember her story long after they’ve finished the last page.” —Megan Barnard, author of Jezebel
"An incredible medieval life rendered in incandescent flashes." —Kirkus Reviews
“Complex and heartbreaking. . . . Quick-moving yet immersive. . . . The author’s prowess in character building helps bring Alice’s story to life.” —BookPage
“This is lustrous elemental writing, full of rich earth, smouldering flames and roiling waters—which left me gasping for air. It consumed me like a fire.” —Katie Hale, author of The Edge of Solitude
“Exciting and triumphant . . . There’s poetry here, in this lyrical, deeply human, fiercely feminist story. A book that burns brighter than even its title suggests.” —Nydia Hetherington, author of A Girl Made of Air
“Aitken’s beguiling lyricism reminds us of the deeper truths that linger in the shadows of the riverbank, at the edge of the woods.” —Karen Powell, author of Fifteen Wild Decembers
“Bright, bold and riotous . . . The prose is distinct and memorable from an author who is unafraid to breathe life and humanity into history and legend.” —Sophie Parkes, author of Out of Human Sight
“A story of power and destruction, that surprised me at every turn . . . We need narratives like these, which bring the past to life in new ways and challenge us to think differently about women and their influence.” —India Rakusen, producer
“Extraordinary . . . Some of the best prose I’ve read.” —Elaine Feeney, author of How to Build a Boat
“A gorgeous, blazing novel, that makes history crackle to life. Fans of Maggie O’Farrell’s Hamnet or A.K. Blakemore’s The Manningtree Witches will love Aitken’s complex, sensual anti-heroine.” —Clare Pollard, author of Delphi
“A lushly fevered tale of marriage, murder and moneylending . . . Haunting and powerful.” —Jane Healey, author of The Beantown Girls
“An incandescent story, ablaze with the passion and determination of a woman centuries ahead of her time.” —Polly Crosby, author of The Book of Hidden Wonders
“Spellbinding . . . A stunning rendition of one fierce Irish woman’s voice pitted against the patriarchal power constructs of Medieval Ireland.” —Anya Bergman, author of The Witches of Vardø
“Aitken is a distinct, singular, stunning voice in historical fiction, and Bright I Burn is a triumph. It took my breath away.” —Jenny Mustard, author of Okay Days
“I was captivated. Every sentence reads like poetry. A stunning, magical, beguiling book.” —Huma Qureshi, author of Playing Games
“Beautifully told, full of passion and fire, Aitken evokes a vivid sense of time and place through her powerful depiction of a woman determined to maintain her position in a society driven by men. Stunning.” —Jenny Quintana, author of Missing Girl
“Darkly atmospheric, this beautiful novel transported me straight to Medieval Ireland.” —Haleh Agar, author of Out of Touch
“Gripping, poetic, a glorious story of a remarkable woman’s passion and her revenge.” —Louisa Reid, author of The Poet
Kirkus Reviews
2024-06-15
A novel set in 13th-century Ireland detailing the life of the first woman in that country to be convicted of witchcraft.
Everyone in Kilkenny knows Alice Kyetler. Her father, an innkeeper and a lender, has passed his business onto her. As a woman banker, she is shrewd; as a marriage prospect, she is intimidating, with her independence and fearlessness. Eventually she marries William Outlaw, another moneylender, with whom she has a son and a daughter. Outlaw is no match for the fiery Alice—he lacks interest in her, especially sexually, much to her impatience—and when their daughter dies, a shattered Alice’s eyes begin to rove elsewhere. After Outlaw himself dies, Alice moves from one wealthy husband to the next, each one dying under circumstances that set the rumor mill humming, eventually culminating in an unprecedented accusation that will change history forever. For those who have read books like Madeline Miller’sCirce or Natalie Haynes’Stone Blind, the story’s contours are familiar, at least at first: A woman with a bit too much power, pride, and ambition gets put in her place by a society all too eager to uphold conventions. But Aitken herself eschews convention: The historical novel, usually stuffed with worldbuilding and contextual detail, here unfolds via a lyric impressionism, moving like skipped stones through Alice’s life from girlhood to old age. As the novel hits the middle of Alice’s story, these stones skip faster, upping the tension. And unlike, say, Circe, Alice is less a misunderstood woman than, like many of history’s greatest figures, villain and victim in one, complex and elliptical. “Did you never wish to know what it is to be ordinary, unseen?” Alice is asked as a young woman. “No, and I certainly never will,” she replies.
An incredible medieval life rendered in incandescent flashes.
