Hex by Jenni Fagan
Jenni Fagan balances magic and realism perfectly in her new book, reframing the story of Scotland's witch trials
Jenni Fagan’s Hex is the second in Polygon’s series Darkland Tales, after Denise Mina’s Rizzio, and just two books in they have already made their mark as essential reading. Like Rizzio, Hex takes a dark story from Scotland’s history and reshapes it for a modern readership.
The best historical fiction looks to the past to comment on the present, but Fagan takes this further by literally linking the two through the device of having teenager Geillis Duncan – accused and convicted as a witch in 1591 – visited by Iris who has journeyed from 2021 to make sure Geillis is not alone in these final hours. Their relationship becomes one of love and understanding, but also anger and sorrow, as they learn more about each other’s lives.
Fagan brings a terrible beauty to a brutal world – the description of Edinburgh High Street’s cobbles being just one example which, once read, is never to be forgot – and the magical and the realism are always in perfect balance. This is a writer fully engaged with both subject and style, and the range of emotions Hex evokes come not only from the characters, or the reader, but from Fagan herself. At a time when the righteous call for acknowledgment and justice for those accused, convicted, and killed during Scotland’s witch trials is louder than ever, Hex is both a timely and timeless publication.