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Bright I Burn

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Bright I Burn

By: Molly Aitken
Narrated by: Avena Mansergh-Wallace
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A NEW YORKER BEST BOOK OF 2024
A BBC BEST BOOK OF 2024

In thirteenth-century Ireland, a woman with power is a woman to be feared.

When a young Alice Kyteler sees her mother wither under the constraints of family responsibilities, she vows that she won't suffer the same fate. Soon Alice discovers she has a flair for making money, and builds a flourishing business. But as her wealth and stature grow, so too do the rumours about her private life. By the time she has moved on to her fourth husband, a blaze of local gossip and resentment culminates in an accusation that could prove fatal.

Inspired by the first recorded person in Ireland to have been condemned as a witch, Bright I Burn gives voice to a woman lost to history, who dared to carve her own space in a man’s world.

 Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction World Literature Money
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Critic reviews

"Mesmerising . . . An imaginative, very stylishly written and entertaining book"
"Extraordinary . . . Some of the best prose I've read" (ELAINE FEENEY)
"Gripping"
"Filled with spirit - every sentence is a work of art. Completely unputdownable" (LUCY ROSE)
"An incredible medieval life rendered in incandescent flashes"
"Vividly recreates medieval Ireland, its challenges and customs, its increasingly influential clergy, its gossiping townspeople. There’s an ever-encroaching sense of death and violence, whether in the harsh natural world or the brutal world of men. Amid this, Alice is a driven and often ruthless woman"
"Spellbinding witch literature . . . A stunning rendition of one fierce Irish woman's voice pitted against the patriarchal power constructs of Medieval Ireland" (ANYA BERGMAN)
"Aitken is a distinct, singular, stunning voice in historical fiction, and Bright I Burn is a triumph. It took my breath away" (JENNY MUSTARD)
"A gorgeous, blazing novel, that makes history crackle to life. Fans of Maggie Farrell’s Hamnet or A.K. Blakemore’s The Manningtree Witches will love Aitken’s complex, sensual anti-heroine" (CLARE POLLARD)
"I was captivated. Every sentence reads like poetry. A stunning, magical, beguiling book" (HUMA QURESHI)
All stars
Most relevant
a wonderful story interwoven with beautiful descriptions and characters that blend into each other

a fascinating tale

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Beautiful tale of the first woman in Ireland charged with witchcraft . I found myself wanting to know more about Alice’s life and of the other women caught up in the hysteria of those times . It also gives a rarely glimpsed picture of life of the upper middle class Irish people of that time that is so rarely portrayed .

Exquisite writing

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This is a beautifully written and compelling story. I was completely drawn into Alice's world and rooted for her, despite her not being your conventional heroine. Heartening and moving to see this woman's story being reclaimed. Stunning performance too.

An immersive and moving experience

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The story could have been so much more...
Underdeveloped characters left me disinterested. 2 too many husbands. The purpose and goal of the main character got lost along the way.

A flat story but good narrator

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