'The Fanatic' by James Robertson is a novel that intertwines two timelines, one set in the late 20th century and the other in the mid-17th century Scotland. The story follows Andrew Carlin, who becomes involved in a ghost tour in Edinburgh and starts to uncover the history of Major Weir and James Mitchel, two figures plagued by personal demons and persecution. The book delves into themes of religious persecution, historical events, and parallels between past and present, all wrapped in Robertson's descriptive and authentic Scottish writing style.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
Content warnings include themes of violence, historical persecution, and the use of dialect that may be challenging for some readers.
From The Publisher:
The impressive debut from an exciting new Scottish voice - a stunning novel about history, identity and redemption. A no. 2 best-seller in Scotland.
It is Spring 1997 and Hugh Hardie needs a ghost for his Tours of Old Edinburgh. Andrew Carlin is the perfect candidate. So, with cape, stick and a plastic rat, Carlin is paid to pretend to be the spirit of Colonel Weir and to scare the tourists. But who is Colonel Weir, executed for witchcraft in 1670.
In his research, Carlin is drawn into the past, in particular to James Mitchel, the fanatic and co-congregationist of Weir's, who was tried in 1676 for the attempted assassination of the Archbishop of St Andrews, James Sharp.
Through the story of two moments in history, 'The Fanatic' is an extraordinary history of Scotland. It is also the story of betrayals, witch hunts, Puritan exiles, stolen meetings, lost memories, smuggled journeys and talking mirrors which will confirm James Robertson as a distinctive and original Scottish writer.
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