I did not have a clue what to expect from this book when I read it, and I was pleasantly surprised. I loved Susan Fletcher's writing. I listened to it as an audio book, and I really felt like I was in the Scottish Highlands as I listened. The book is based on actual fictional events, and all the main characters mentioned in the book are actual, including Corrag. Corrag is imprisoned on charges of witchcraft and awaiting her death by burning. Throughout the book she tells her story to a visiting minister while she sits in jail awaiting her fate. The minister writes home to his wife during this time, and explains how his initially feelings about Corrag change over time. I have an affinity for stories which explain how various plants can be used for healing, and there is lots of that sprinkled in this book. This was a really, really beautiful story - Fletcher's writing was gorgeously lyrical and extremely visceral - I felt as though I right there in the Scottish Highlands with Corrag. The story revolves around the infamous Glencoe Massacre of 1692, when 38 members of the MacDonald clan were slaughtered by soldiers (rumoured to have been sent by the Protestant King William) who'd been accepting of the clan's hospitality only a few days previously and even shown kindness to the Macdonalds.The story is narrated in turn by a young woman called Corrag who has been imprisoned because of her involvement with the MacDonald's and has been accused of witchcraft and is due to be burned at the stake and an Irish Jacobite priest named Charles Leslie, who visits Corrag daily in her dirty, dank, dark prison cell to hear her side of the story in the hope of finding out information to prove King William was behind the massacre and to condemn him. As Corrag tells her story Charles' (who was at first repelled by her) mindset and priorities begin to change. I honestly can't do this book justice in a review because I can't put into words how wonderful it is. It left me speechless for a long while after reading it. The emotive language used (put it this way, I cried when an animal died) and the stunning descriptions of the Scottish Highlands were breathtaking. Corrag herself was so good and so brave and so, so inspiring - I'll remember her and her story for a long while to come.
What do You think about Corrag (2010)?
A little slow at the start, but a beautiful book when you get into it. I loved it.
—amy_hughes
This was based on a true story it is set in Scotland during the Jacobite period.
—mkchung
Makes me want to go back to Scotland even more..
—Clare
