It had the thick, earthy smell of plants at night, and water, and water sounds… A valley of such narrowness, and with such steep sides that it is like walking into a hand, half-closed… It was an open hand that I could lie inside, and it would keep me safe.” This beauty is eventually destroyed by the massacre of the MacDonalds at the hands of the soldiers, their own guests. It was a quiet, night-time valley which I crept into, with mud and moths in my hair… It was cool air, with the sea’s breath. 'Before it was bloodied, or snow-thick, Glencoe was lit by moon. This is where some of the most beautiful descriptions of the Scottish Highlands can be found. She falls in love with the highlands and with a powerful member of the clan.

Here she uses her knowledge of nature and herbs to help and heal. Corrag is forced to flee alone to the Scottish Highlands where she settles near and befriends the MacDonald clan. I’ve never turned into a bird, skimmed a night-time loch, or settled on ships to make them drown… I’ve not summoned anything… I pray – not in church and with no Bible, but otherwise I reckon it’s probably like how you pray, which is with the heart’s voice talking, not the mouth’s.' Misunderstood, misjudged, and persecuted, Corrag, her mother and her grandmother are called “witch” due to their differences and strengths as unattached women. I’ve never plucked out gizzards or howled at moons. “What townsfolk say we do and what we truly do are very different things. Susan Fletcher tells this story with gorgeous, poetical and vivid prose. It is about learning to truly understand the people we encounter in our lives. Alternately titled The Highland Witch or Witch Light, Corrag is a magical story about opening your heart to the beauty of your surroundings. Haunting and beautiful, Corrag drew me in and transported me to the Scottish Highlands of the seventeenth century.

The highland witch by susan fletcher