Our main character, Alexander Seaton, has gone through many hardships. Author SG MacLean explains how Alexander wanted to be a pastor and take his best friend's sister as his wife, but fell from grace and lost everything, ultimately deciding to become a heartbroken teacher after suffering a serious mental health crisis. .
start
We are in the Scottish town of Banff in 1626. MacLean sets the scene and transports us to simpler yet more complex times. Let's not forget the town's power struggles, the Holy Roman Empire's yearning for expansion, and the witch hunts that would claim the lives of too many women.
At a pub called the Market Inn, Alexander Seaton meets his friends James Jaffay, a doctor from Banff, and Charles Thom, a master of the Banff School of Song.
Thom rents a room in the home of Banff pharmacist Edward Arbuthnott and falls in love with Arbuthnott's daughter Marion. However, she only seems to be interested in her father's apprentice, Patrick Davidson. It's a classic love triangle, so when Patrick is murdered, everyone sees Charles as the obvious suspect.
Murder
It became clear that there was more to Patrick than just becoming a pharmacist's apprentice. He studied and traveled in Europe and often went hiking with Marion. It turns out he was drawing maps after his death. Why did he create a map showing cities and roads? Did he create a map of herbs and flowers used in medicine, or did he draw a map that could aid the invasion of the Holy Roman Empire?
If this wasn't enough, he and Marion visited the Wise Woman of Darkwater. To many, she is a witch. For others she is a skilled midwife and a woman well-versed in natural medicine, and for others she is their last hope to get pregnant or have an abortion. She is scared of what she is capable of and what she knows she is doing, but she is in desperate need of healing and healing. After Patrick is murdered, Marion returns to see the wise woman once more. But why?
In order to make sense of the map found in Patrick's belongings, Alexander is sent to consult with knowledgeable people around Aberdeen. If Patrick was a spy mapping the invasion zone, who else appears in the plot? Has anyone heard of any continental conspiracies or spies now living in Scotland?
As he goes on this journey, we learn everything that went wrong in Alexander's life and how he reacted to these setbacks. MacLean brilliantly explains his feelings, how he perceives himself, and how he checks his self-esteem at the worst moments. Luckily, we also hear what other people think about it. We see how he can resolve bad situations and resolve differences through his natural talent for mediation. And Marion is also found murdered.
Salvation
Alexander begins to put the pieces of the puzzle together, but knows that the only way to find the root cause of it all is to speak to the wise woman in Darkwater. He ends up discovering and finding out more than he bargained for. But in the end, he also discovers who he believed would make him successful.
note
I have read several books by SG MacLean. The full Seeker series, bookshops and winter catalogs in Inverness. I didn't know what to expect from this older series, but I found the entire series online for a good price, so I took a chance. I don't regret it. There are four books in the Seaton series: The Redemption of Alexander Seaton, A Game of Sorrows, Crucible of Secrets, and The Devil's Recruit.
At the back of the book is a glossary of Scottish words and modern translations. What I'm missing is a brief analysis of the government that clarifies the power structures, titles, authorities, and local urban organizations of the era that many people will not be familiar with.
If you love Scottish historical fiction and want to explore how people get back up after they fall, this book is for you. Highly recommended reading!
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