A Fire in Their Hearts cover art

A Fire in Their Hearts

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Unlimited access to our all-you-can-listen catalogue of 15K+ audiobooks and podcasts
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

A Fire in Their Hearts

By: Philip Paris
Narrated by: Alex C Stewart, Lianne Walker
Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £31.99

Buy Now for £31.99

About this listen

 'A gripping story' - The Scotsman
'A poignant love story suffused with a deep, moving humanity' - The Herald
'A memorable novel' - The Sunday Times

SCOTLAND, 1662.
Hunted, held prisoner and banished for a belief...

As civil war rages and King Charles II tightens his grip on the Church of Scotland, childhood sweethearts Violet and Samuel are swept into a violent struggle for religious freedom. They pledge their hearts to each other - and to a cause that will test their faith, courage and love beyond measure.

Hunted as rebels, imprisoned behind the walls of the infamous Greyfriars Kirkyard and torn from their homeland, Violet and Samuel are sentenced to a life of indentured servitude on the brutal sugar plantations of Barbados. But when their ship wrecks off the coast of Orkney, they become separated.

Alone and captive in a foreign land, Violet must summon every ounce of strength to survive the horrors she faces - and to cling to the hope that Samuel is still alive. Can love endure across oceans, through wars and captivity?

A Fire in Their Hearts is a powerful, epic tale of love, faith and survival, inspired by the extraordinary true events of the seventeenth-century Killing Times, by the bestselling author of The Last Witch of Scotland, Waterstones Scottish Book of the Year 2024.

'Heartfelt and devastating . . . Philip Paris's remarkable story-telling brings some of the darkest episodes in Scottish history memorably to light.'
S.G. MacLEAN, bestselling author of The Bookseller of Inverness

'An utterly heart-wrenching novel.'
FIONA VALPY, author of The Sky Beneath Us

'Touching and dramatic . . . A beautifully written page-turner. Highly recommended.'
ELISABETH GIFFORD, author of The Lost Lights of St Kilda©2025 Philip Paris (P)2025 Bonnier Books UK Historical Historical Fiction War Survival Heartfelt Scotland Royalty Highlander
All stars
Most relevant
This is simply superb! The characters are beautifully drawn, totally sympathetic, large as life itself. The Killing Times is a period of Scottish History which has always seemed like a madness to me. Something cruel and wholly incomprehensible. Why would a group of people lay down their lives for a religious freedom? Philip Paris provides the answer, winding his fiction through the real horrors and atrocities of the time. From the dreadful treatment of the Covenanters to the horrors of the sugar plantation Paris does not let you look away. He glues you to the characters fates, pulls you into even the minor characters lives. I could not stop listening, could not put it down.

Historical Fiction at its very best!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
After enjoying the last witch of Scotland I purchased this. The narrators once again brought the story to life and made it such easy listening. The plot was not quite what I was expecting, but in a good way! So much history and depth to it, and the characters stories were gripping. It felt like an emotional journey with them. The ending took my breath away, such an unexpected twist. This story will stay with me for a while after, haunting and beautiful at the same time. Would thoroughly recommend.

Deep story, not what I expected!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.