Bright I Burn by Molly Aitken
A blazing tale of power, patriarchy and sexuality, based on the true story of the first woman in Ireland to have been condemned as a witch
Mesmerising. . An imaginative, very stylishly written and entertaining book * * Irish Times * *
Extraordinary . . . Some of the best prose I've read -- ELAINE FEENEY
Gripping * * NEW YORKER * *
Filled with spirit - every sentence is a work of art. Completely unputdownable -- LUCY ROSE
An incredible medieval life rendered in incandescent flashes * * Kirkus * *
Vividly recreates medieval Ireland, its challenges and customs, its increasingly influential clergy, its gossiping townspeople. There's an ever-encroaching sense of death and violence, whether in the harsh natural world or the brutal world of men. Amid this, Alice is a driven and often ruthless woman * * Irish Times * *
Spellbinding witch literature . . . A stunning rendition of one fierce Irish woman's voice pitted against the patriarchal power constructs of Medieval Ireland -- ANYA BERGMAN
Aitken is a distinct, singular, stunning voice in historical fiction, and Bright I Burn is a triumph. It took my breath away -- JENNY MUSTARD
A gorgeous, blazing novel, that makes history crackle to life. Fans of Maggie Farrell's Hamnet or A.K. Blakemore's The Manningtree Witches will love Aitken's complex, sensual anti-heroine -- CLARE POLLARD
I was captivated. Every sentence reads like poetry. A stunning, magical, beguiling book -- HUMA QURESHI
Extraordinary . . . Some of the best prose I've read -- ELAINE FEENEY
Gripping * * NEW YORKER * *
Filled with spirit - every sentence is a work of art. Completely unputdownable -- LUCY ROSE
An incredible medieval life rendered in incandescent flashes * * Kirkus * *
Vividly recreates medieval Ireland, its challenges and customs, its increasingly influential clergy, its gossiping townspeople. There's an ever-encroaching sense of death and violence, whether in the harsh natural world or the brutal world of men. Amid this, Alice is a driven and often ruthless woman * * Irish Times * *
Spellbinding witch literature . . . A stunning rendition of one fierce Irish woman's voice pitted against the patriarchal power constructs of Medieval Ireland -- ANYA BERGMAN
Aitken is a distinct, singular, stunning voice in historical fiction, and Bright I Burn is a triumph. It took my breath away -- JENNY MUSTARD
A gorgeous, blazing novel, that makes history crackle to life. Fans of Maggie Farrell's Hamnet or A.K. Blakemore's The Manningtree Witches will love Aitken's complex, sensual anti-heroine -- CLARE POLLARD
I was captivated. Every sentence reads like poetry. A stunning, magical, beguiling book -- HUMA QURESHI
Molly Aitken was born in Scotland and brought up in Ireland. Her short fiction has appeared in Ploughshares, for which she won the Alice Hoffman Prize for Fiction 2023, Banshee, and has been dramatized for BBC Radio 4. Her first novel The Island Child was longlisted for the Authors' Club Best First Novel Award. Molly is currently studying for a PhD in Creative Writing and History at Sheffield Hallam University.
@MollyAitken1 | @molly.aitken
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781786898371 |
| ISBN 10 | 1786898373 |
| Title | Bright I Burn |
| Author | Molly Aitken |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Canongate Books |
| Year published | 2025-06-19 |
| Number of pages | 304 |
| Prizes | Short-listed for RSL Encore Award 2025 (UK) |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |