Agnes Finnie - the 'Witch' of Potterrow Port by Mary W. Craig

If you’ve read ‘Touchpaper’ you’ll know that Agnes Finnie appears briefly. I like to tie in the historical elements of the books with real historical events and people, where possible, so I was looking around for a woman accused of witchcraft I could use, when I came across a book by Mary W. Craig, about Agnes Finnie.

Mary’s book is a fascinating read, even if history books aren’t your bag. It’s the story of a woman of her times: a shop-keeper and money-lender, striving to make her way in the toxic man’s world that was seventeenth century Edinburgh and not giving in easily. The book describes a woman who would dig her heels in and face down anyone and, perhaps it was inevitable that she was accused of witchcraft. But she didn’t give in, even to the extent of hiring an advocate to defend her, sadly to no avail.

Agnes Finnie – the 'Witch' of Potterrow Port by Mary W. Craig is published by Luath Press

ISBN 978-1-804-25019-8