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A novel based on the shocking true eighteenth-century story of a Scottish noblewoman whose own husband faked her death and exiled her to a remote island, where she could never be found.
Edinburgh, January 1732. It’s the funeral of Rachel, wife of high-ranking aristocrat Lord Grange, whose unexpected death has shocked the mourners.
But Rachel is, in fact, very much alive. She has been brutally kidnapped and her death has been faked—by her own husband. Whether punishment for being “too feisty for a lady” and not submissive enough for a wife, or to cover up his treasonous Jacobite leanings, or simply to replace her with his long-time mistress, he has banished Rachel to a remote and barren island. There she will be subjected to a life of hardship and loneliness, unable to speak the islanders’ language, far from her beloved children and without hope of being found.
Lady Grange has until now been remembered only by her husband’s unflattering account, but this novel reveals events from the perspective of the real Lady Grange. At last, centuries later, her story is reclaimed.
“Sue Lawrence is a rock star.” The Guardian
“The wronged lady finally has her say... One of the strangest and most disturbing stories to have emerged from Scotland's Jacobite past.” The Times
“An imaginative telling of an extraordinary true story, played out against a wild landscape in unforgiving times.” Sarah Maine, author of The House Between Tides
“From the Jacobite intrigues of eighteenth-century Edinburgh to Scotland’s dark and sea-battered islands, Lady Grange’s life is one of eye-popping incident. An amazing story.” Sally Magnusson, author of The Sealwoman
“Swept me along breathlessly … The cruelty and complexity of eighteenth-century Scottish society is richly represented. And what a story to uncover!” Annie Gray, author of The Greedy Queen
Sue Lawrence is the author of absorbing historical page-turners that cast fascinating light on the perils and injustice that characterized women’s lives in Scotland through centuries past—whether born into penniless or powerful families: The Green Lady, The Unreliable Death of Lady Grange, Down to the Sea, The Night He Left, and Fields of Blue Flax. She is also one of the UK’s leading cookery writers and broadcasters. A former section editor of the Sunday Times and a regular contributor to many leading magazines, and she appears frequently on BBC Radio. Born in Dundee, she was raised in Edinburgh, where she now lives. She is the author of more than 20 books.