Molly Aitken's 2020 debut The Island Child – about the power and danger of a mother's love – was a critical triumph. Her second has been equally well received, and is based on the true story of the first Irish woman convicted of witchcraft, Alice Kyteler (1280-1325). Bright I Burn portrays a formidable but humane heroine with a love of power, sex and wealth, who gets through four husbands, all of whom come to a suspicious end – whereupon an ambitious bishop condemns her as a witch. Alice's voice is interspersed throughout by the commentary of a chorus of judgmental villagers. "The novel moves through the decades in sharp, poetic vignettes," says Publishers Week. "It adds up to a fiercely intelligent and often surprising examination of a woman's choices and their consequences." The Irish Times, meanwhile, describes Bright I Burn as "mesmerising", and "an imaginative, very stylishly written and entertaining book". (LB)

First published June 6, 2024