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Back The Darkest Shore
Chapters (76)
  1. Cover
  2. About the Author
  3. Also by Karen Brooks
  4. Title Page
  5. Dedication
  6. EXPLANATORY NOTE
  7. PART ONE
  8. One
  9. Two
  10. Three
  11. Four
  12. Five
  13. Six
  14. Seven
  15. Eight
  16. Nine
  17. Ten
  18. Eleven
  19. Twelve
  20. Thirteen
  21. Fourteen
  22. Fifteen
  23. Sixteen
  24. Seventeen
  25. Eighteen
  26. Nineteen
  27. Twenty
  28. Twenty-One
  29. Twenty-Two
  30. Twenty-Three
  31. Twenty-Four
  32. Twenty-Five
  33. Twenty-Six
  34. Twenty-Seven
  35. Twenty-Eight
  36. PART TWO
  37. Twenty-Nine
  38. Thirty
  39. Thirty-One
  40. Thirty-Two
  41. Thirty-Three
  42. Thirty-Four
  43. Thirty-Five
  44. PART THREE
  45. Thirty-Six
  46. Thirty-Seven
  47. Thirty-Eight
  48. Thirty-Nine
  49. Forty
  50. Forty-One
  51. Forty-Two
  52. Forty-Three
  53. Forty-Four
  54. Forty-Five
  55. Forty-Six
  56. Forty-Seven
  57. Forty-Eight
  58. Forty-Nine
  59. Fifty
  60. Fifty-One
  61. Fifty-Two
  62. PART FOUR
  63. Fifty-Three
  64. Fifty-Four
  65. Fifty-Five
  66. Fifty-Six
  67. Fifty-Seven
  68. Fifty-Eight
  69. Fifty-Nine
  70. Sixty
  71. Sixty-One
  72. Epilogue: Autumn 1706
  73. AUTHOR’S NOTE
  74. GLOSSARY
  75. LIST OF CHARACTERS
  76. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This book has been one of the hardest and yet also, in a strange and inexplicable way, one of the most fulfilling I have yet written. Being based on a true story, dealing with actual people and the shocking events that unfolded, the cruelty meted out and the impact this had on the lives of those in and around Pittenweem at the time became all-consuming — in a fraught but also good way. It was so important that I represented the women and men involved as well as I could, gave them three dimensions and took them from the sometimes cold, dry pages of history or academic discourse, or even from exploitative media tales, and gave them heart, soul, courage, loves, dislikes, flaws, friendships, work, and thus, I hope purpose beyond what we know. It also became absolutely crucial, the more I wrote, researched and learned, to reclaim the word ‘fishwife’. For so long a derogatory and reductive term, used to remind women of their ‘place’ by silencing and discrediting them mainly by using the word as an insult, I hope this book goes some way to revealing what an amazing, hard-working, stoic and pragmatic bunch of women they were. I couldn’t think of anyone I would want to call friend more — so aren’t I lucky I have my own ‘school’ of fishwives who support me?

Like all my other books, this one wasn’t written without the support, kindness, generosity and love of so many women and men, many of whom were not aware of how much their encouragement, patience, occasional query about progress, invitation to dinner and/or drinks, and ability to help me shed my self-doubt that I could do this tale justice meant. I now have the chance to publicly thank them. Before I start, I also want to pre-empt anyone I may inadvertently leave out — please know, it’s only from these pages, not from my heart.

Firstly, I want to thank my wonderful agent and dearest of friends, Selwa Anthony. From the moment I told her about this idea for a novel about fishwives and witchcraft that had me hooked, she was too and encouraged me to pursue it. Giving me advice on where to modify a little or strengthen a theme, she was an advocate for the fishwives and their story from the get-go and I owe so much to this beautiful woman. Thank you, Selwa.