Iris says she will ‘ place a hex on every man, woman and child who takes pleasure in Geillis’ death. Hex is a visceral depiction of what happens when a society is consumed by fear and superstition, exploring how the terrible force of a king's violent crusade against ordinary women can still be felt, right up to the present day.

Power is not something women are allowed to own easily or – often – at all, let alone learn to wield. While Hex enables a real historical character to have her voice back, Fagan also creates a fictionalised character to be with her in her cell as she awaits execution. In really poor neighbourhoods, or in areas of prostitution, you’d think that some women’s murders appear acceptable, even, to some, and they are certainly far less questioned than others. In Hex Fagan makes explicit that this is not about anything otherworldly, but about the cold, hard nature of power. I have been published in The Independent, Granta, The New York Times, Marie Claire, Dazed and Confused, The Scotsman, Flux, Poetry Review Scotland, Ambit, The List, Brand, Gutter, and various reputable anthologies.

Iris disables a guard, astrally produces an eatable meal for Geillis, conjures a blanket out of nothing for her too and later, when in the guise of a crow, manages to devour a rat herself.

As the hours pass and dawn approaches, Geillis recounts the circumstances of her arrest, brutal torture, confession and trial, while Iris offers support, solace – and the tantalising prospect of escape. While Geillis is poignantly stoic in her declaration of innocence, determined to denounce the men who have unjustly wronged her, Iris’s role within the story suggests that magic and witches are in fact real, somewhat undermining the book’s commentary on the harm of lies and corruption. I would like to reassure you that five hundred years from now the fine line of misogyny no longer elongates from uncomfortable to fatal, yet I cannot. The terrible force of a king’s violent crusade against ordinary women can still be felt, right up to the present day. Along the coast of Fife, in villages like Culross and Pittenweem, history records that some women were executed as witches.Una joven que pasa sus últimas horas de vida en una celda a la espera de que se produzca su ejecución. Fagan views the witch hunt as being purely an expression of male dominance, almost as an essentialist tantrum. Having lived in Edinburgh for 5 months, I know very well the place where Geillis took her last breath. She presented Hex to us, and we had the chance to share opinions and some beautiful and inspiring moments with the author. I enjoyed The Sunlight Pilgrims when I read it (though it was quite a few years ago now), and I’ve had my eye on a couple of others by her.

Sitting in the back of a police car, she finds herself headed for the Panopticon, a home for chronic young offenders where the social workers are as suspicious as its residents. It’s far nearer four-hundred years actually (more characteristic sloppiness) and, in any case, you’ve fallen four-hundred years too short!

Intelligent women threaten men, powerful women threaten them even more and the female ‘ body has been for women in capitalist society what the factory has been for male waged labour… the primary ground of their exploitation and resistance. Jenni was selected as one of Granta’s Best Young British Novelists after the publication of her debut novel, The Panopticon, which was shortlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize and the James Tait Black Prize. This book is based on a really interesting concept - of historic Scottish tales retold or readdressed - and a female focused story that I thought would grip me. Geillis Duncan and all of the other countless women who were killed just for being women should not be forgotten. Will white people, realising that we are all one, stand shoulder to shoulder with Black Lives Matter activists?