The Witches' Mark

Hunchbacked Pheemie is perceived as a witch in a fishing village in 17th-century Fife. The story starts as the fishermen blame her for the weather which won’t allow them to fish that day, although it is not clear why this particular weather and day should be the catalyst for the series of events which follows. Murdo, an orphan, befriends Pheemie and becomes her saviour in a tale that shows the power of ignorance and spite in a small community. There is also corruption from the Laird down and Silas Pow, the witch hunter, is a thoroughly nasty piece of work. The story gives a convincing picture of the time, sometimes imparting the information in a slightly clumsy way, and has an unlikely but endearing heroine in the character of Pheemie. Her relationship with Murdo is well depicted but the denouement is less than plausible and rather too neat. There is no map so it is difficult for a reader unfamiliar with the geography of Scotland to envisage the journey that Murdo and Alex make to try to save the ‘witch’ from her fate. There are other stories of witch hunts but this is unusual because it is set in Scotland.