Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoy historical fiction, especially those with a fantasy twist, so I was very excited to get into this one! I wouldn't say I was disappointed, but perhaps my hopes were a little high given the topic and ratings I had seen. I was underwhelmed by some of the characters and found it difficult to differentiate between them at times. It also felt very similar to other titles I've read about witches in that era.

That being said, it was an enjoyable read, just didn't really stand out to me.

Anna of Denmark is heading to Scotland to marry King James VI but her journey is interrupted by a terrible storm. The king believes that witches are to blame and is determined to catch them...
The King’s Witches is an historical novel set in 1589
I loved this book and finding out more about the Scottish court during the Tudor era, especially its king and new queen.
Anna embarks on a dangerous sea journey to take up a new throne, country, and husband in Scotland. I felt really sorry for her as she attempts to adjust to the expectations placed on her by the patriarchal social norms. It was particuarly shocking that she was on a year's trial so she was at constant threat of being sent home on James' whim.
I've said many times that my dissertation was on witchcraft so I loved this aspect of the book. I had such sympathy with the innocent victims, subject to the king's power (as he tries to deflect attention from his own homosexuality and prove his worthiness as king) but also at the mercy of enemies who want to wreak revenge.
The only thing that jarred were some historical inaccuracies but the author note confirms that this was due to artistic license.
The King's Witches is an excellent historical novel, well researched and full of emotion.

The King’s Witches by Kate Foster

“Why do men hate clever women?” A question that haunts history, and one that The King’s Witches highlights. As James VI of Scotland (later James I of England) becomes consumed by his obsession with witchcraft, Kate Foster delivers a gripping feminist retelling of the North Berwick witch trials.

Set in 1589, The King’s Witches follows three women caught in the rising hysteria of Europe’s witch trials. As Princess Anna of Denmark sails to Scotland to wed King James VI, her devoted lady-in-waiting, Kirsten Sorenson, harbours dangerous secrets. Meanwhile, Jura, a young maid from North Berwick, flees to Edinburgh after her healing skills mark her as a witch. With fear and suspicion spreading like wildfire, their lives collide in a world where superstition is law and a woman’s intelligence can be her downfall.

This novel offers so much. If you love witch lit for its reclaiming of lost female voices, you’ll find that here. But if, like me, you revel in historical depth, The King’s Witches is rich with detail on how Scotland’s fear of sorcery was shaped by European witch hunts. The novel vividly explores King James VI’s growing obsession with demonology, influenced by his exposure to Germany’s witch trials and the prevailing belief that supernatural forces were conspiring against him. Foster traces how these anxieties took root in Scotland, fueling the North Berwick trials, the first large-scale witch hunt in Britain. The torture scenes in particular are a textbook study in confirmation bias, showing how accusations could be twisted into confessions and how fear quickly turned to state sanctioned cruelty. The novel masterfully captures this descent into paranoia, making it an unsettling yet essential read for anyone fascinated by the dark history of witch hunts.

Dark, immersive, and painfully relevant, The King’s Witches is a must-read for fans of The Witches of Vardø and The Familiars.

Thank you to the author and @netgalley for an advance copy in return for an honest review.

I read Kate Foster’s first book and this was a great second book. I loved the interconnected stories and the two women’s perspectives from two classes and different if backgrounds. It was a real insight into the background of witch trials and the royal connections. I didn’t get a chance to review this straight after reading and now months later I can recall much of it so for me that’s a great sign.

This is the first book I’ve read by Kate Foster and I absolutely loved it. I enjoy historical fiction but usually prefer the Victorian period so I wasn’t sure that I’d enjoy a novel set in the sixteenth century. The novel starts in 1589 when Princess Anna of Denmark is betrothed to King James VI of Scotland at the time of the North Berwick witch trials. The novel is based on true events but the author has introduced fictional characters and plot lines.
This is without a doubt one of the best historical novels I’ve read and one of my favourite novels of the last year. The author completely drew me in to the period, it’s so atmospheric, from voyage to Scotland via Norway to life at the King’s court in Scotland. I loved the three main characters - Princess Anna, Kirsten one of her courtiers and Jura, a local Scottish young woman. I knew little about the North Berwick witch trials, which were shocking. It’s beautifully written with superb characterisation and period detail and I feel bereft now I’ve finished it.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

I am a sucker for some historical fiction and this did not disappoint, based in and around North Berwick at the time of the witch trials that took place in Scotland involving King James VI of Scotland (he wrote his book 'Daemonologie' around this time based on what was going).

The story is told from several female perspectives, the first we meet is Anna who is Princess of Denmark and her destiny is marriage to the King and production of an heir. She has to travel to Scotland basically on a trial period (called 'handfasting') to determine if the match is a good one before any wedding happens. She has her lady's maid Kirsten travelling with her, an older lady of the court who's been to Scotland before, can speak the language and is keen to go back for her own reasons.

Last of all is Jura, daughter to a local healer woman in North Berwick who has died leaving her with her drunken father to fend for herself. She decides to find work as a housemaid, ending up with a local well-to-do family. Her mother has taught her some of her healing skills, but as the witchcraft fear spreads from Europe to Scotland things become increasingly dangerous.

The paths of all three cross when the King endorses witch trials are brought to the capital city, Edinburgh.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and got fully immersed in what was going on. I always enjoy stories about women told from their own perspectives, and set in this time period their is the addition of how fragile each of their lives are, They do not have agency to do as they wish, impacted by the society they live in, their perceived position in it and also how powerful the church and religion was. The fear and scaremongering is well described and not overdone, feeling completely real for all of the characters throughout.

The threat of being accused of witchcraft was a horrendous reality for so many, predominantly women and with King James so utterly convinced of their existence the element of danger in just trying to live their lives and survive any way possible is effectively realised. The author does a brilliant job of bringing to life a fascinating period of history and it makes for a brilliant, thought provoking read.

The Kings Witches by Kate Foster. I didn’t think I would like this as much as I did but I bloody loved it. Anne of Denmark is coming over to Scotland to marry a James and the world has gone a bit mad witch burning. There is a serving girl and a stroppy wife and I loved it. Everyone is very interesting and the fear of being accused of being a witch really hits home. It also highlights the utter madness of men when massive hysteria got hold of them back in the day. Very much recommend.

I discovered this book to be quite captivating. It is a brilliantly written historical fiction novel that delves into the North Berwick Witch Trials. The story is narrated from the perspectives of three women who were involved in the trial, one of whom is Princess Anna of Denmark, who later became the Queen of Scotland. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and would highly recommend it to enthusiasts of historical fiction, particularly those who appreciate a touch of witchcraft in their reading material

It is well documented that King James VI of Scotland had a dangerous obsession for witchcraft which led, in part, to the persecution of witches throughout Scotland. Later when he became King James I of England this determination to be rid of witches continued. This fascinating story looks at the very beginnings of this obsession with the arrival of Princess Anne of Denmark who is betrothed to James and whose journey to Scotland from Stockholm was delayed due to a great storm which is attributed to the work of witchcraft. With emotions running high in Edinburgh a young housemaid called Jura, who has inherited her mother's skill at healing, becomes caught up in in this deadly hysteria and so we start to feel the full force of witchcraft mania and how it affected those women who had little chance of escaping it.

The King's Witches is an interesting look at Scottish court intrigue and the demands placed upon the young Danish Princess who arrived in a strange country already betrothed to a man she had never met and with the added stipulation that Anne was to be on a years trial to determine her suitability to be Queen of Scotland. James I's suitability to be her husband was, of course, never questioned but he doesn't come across well and history continues to judge him harshly for his persecution of innocent women. There is a definite emotional pull to the story which focuses on the fear and superstition of living through a volatile and dangerous time.

Imaginatively written, filled with an authentic historical feel, the story moves along well and I was soon caught up in the fear and politics of sixteenth century Scotland.

This book follows three women, Anna Queen of Scots before she is queen of scots, her ladies maid, Kirsten and a maid from North Berwick, Jura.

I absolutely love the way the book starts, the setting is set immediately and the atmosphere created is both intense and exciting.

The three women's stories are interwoven so well, with each women having distinct voices and their own secrets. I learned so much about the scottish witch trials, which I admit I don't know a huge amount about.

This book had everything, with atmosphere, interesting characters and historical feminism, I loved it.

I've read my fair share of Witchlit and October seems a perfect month to explore this area. Some books use an historical event upon which to base their story and the Kings Witches by Kater Foster takes that approach.

This grips you right from the very start with the emotional scene of the main characters forced to watch the burning of a witch, followed by a cursed sea voyage for Princess Anna of Denmark on her journey to wed King James in Scotland. What follows is a cleverly plotted story filled with unexpected twists and turns. The book has a claustrophobic feel for all the main characters - the Princess on trial to prove herself worthy to unite Denmark and Scotland under the union of marriage, Kirsten who holds a closely guarded secret and Jura who discovers the injustice of her word against that of a privileged landowner and employer resulting in claims of witchcraft.

It is beautifully written and once you start you won't want to put it down. The characters are written with empathy and each of their stories told vividly. The one line that will stay with me is: 'Women whisper secrets to each other; it is how we survive.' Although it relates within the historical context of the story, it feels relevant in a world where women's rights and their voices continue to be eroded.

Having adored this author’s previous novel, I was very excited to read this work of historical fiction based on the real-life witch trials that swept through Scotland in the sixteenth century.

The novel follows the perspectives of three different women – Princess Anna of Denmark, who is betrothed to King James, but in love with one of his courtiers, her lady’s maid Kirsten, who has a connection with Scotland and fears the mania around witchcraft starting to sweep the Scottish court, and a young cunning woman named Jura, who uses her knowledge to help residents in her Scottish village, but whose life will change forever once the King’s fear of witches begins to sweep the country.

As with the author’s previous work, this is meticulously well researched and provides a wonderful sense of the time and place. The characters, some real and some fictitious, are well rounded and their mounting sense of fear and dread is palpable. I loved each storyline, although Jura’s was probably my favourite, and I would highly recommend this work to any fans of historical fiction. I can’t wait for more by this author!

My thanks to the author, NetGalley, and the publisher for the arc to review.

The witch trials in Scotland is a moment of history I find so fascinating because it is one of the moral panic events where a certain group is demonized and killed because of the incompetence of the elites. The writing was beautiful and compelling, Foster managed to create a very atmospheric story and I just loved everything about this book.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publishers for sending me a copy in exchange for a review.

I am a big nerd for history, and particularly the history of witchcraft and witch trials so this book sounded right up my street. Whilst I think the author did a fantastic job bringing the hysteria behind the witch hunts as well as the torture that these poor people were put under to get 'confessions', it was the over all plot and characterisation that led to this book not being so great in my eyes.
The plot was a little boring, and the over all twist just seemed so unbelievable that I almost lost interest. The characters of Anna of Denmark and Jura were bland and Anna in particular was just boring to read the POV from. Kirsten was the only interesting one until the plot twist.

Overall, an underwhelming historical fiction that could have been so much more with a stronger plot.

✦The King’s Witches ~ Kate Foster

👑 Interweaves Princess Anna of Denmark‘s travelling to Scotland to become James Stuart’s bride in 16th Century with the panic over witchcraft. Anna’s story conencts with that of a secretive lady in waiting and a young girl escaping her employer in Berwick.

💭 really enjoyed this- a good mix of historical detail and female courage, with a dose of court intrigue. It is fast paced and Foster’s use of 3 distinct voices doesn’t detract. Would recommend!

Thank you to @panmacmillan @netgalley for my ARC ❤️

Not a part of history I venture back into often, if at all. However there seems to be a glut of books about witches and I chose this one, by pure chance. I am so glad I did.

I learnt about the witches of course, but I was transported across the North Sea to Denmark. To 1589, Princess Anne, chosen to be betrothed to James VI of Scotland, has to pass the test of being worthy of being a Queen. The workings of court, the power of politics and the people on both sides of the sea. The worry of the power of witches.

North Berwick, as far removed from the Scottish or Danish Court a young housemaid wants better. She has healing powers which some relish and others see as suspicious. Could she be curse people, could she be a witch? And how does this nobody suddenly be within the court of the potential new Queen.

A fascinating book, which led me to learn more about the real people within and also how much witchcraft had a hold of what could be seen as the most powerful of people. How the slightest thing could sweep a epidemic across a nation, across a sea, across the population. Sadly having some resonance with events of today.

Enjoyed it, not as much as The Maiden, but it covered history I knew little about and I felt enriched by expanding my knowledge even if it is through a piece of well written fiction.

Historical novels based on real-life witch trials seem to be very popular at the moment; I can think of several I’ve read just in the last two or three years. The King’s Witches is another and takes the slightly different approach of telling the story not only of the so-called witches, but also of the woman married to the man behind the witch hunts, King James VI of Scotland.

The novel opens in Denmark in 1589, where Anna, daughter of King Frederick II, is preparing for the arrival of the Scottish ambassador who will escort her across the sea to her new life in Scotland. Anna is betrothed to James VI and before leaving Denmark, they undergo a handfasting ceremony by proxy, with the Earl Marischal standing in for James. Setting sail for Scotland a few days later, Anna’s ship is hit by violent storms and is forced to turn back several times. Witches are blamed for summoning the winds in an attempt to stop the new queen from reaching her destination and by the time Anna eventually arrives in Scotland the fear of witchcraft is becoming widespread.

In the town of North Berwick, another young woman, Jura, is working as a maid in the Kincaid household. Jura has inherited her mother’s skills as a healer and knowledge of herbs and charms, but when the whispers of witchcraft grow louder – and the unwanted attentions of her master become more difficult to avoid – she is forced to flee to Edinburgh. However, escaping both the witch hunts and the Kincaids is not going to be easy…

The King’s Witches is narrated by both Anna and Jura, as well as a third woman, Kirsten, who is Anna’s lady-in-waiting and accompanies her on the journey from Denmark. Kirsten has been to Scotland before, but is very secretive regarding what happened during her previous visit and we will have to wait until later in the book for her full story to emerge. Kirsten and Jura are both fictional characters, but Anna (usually known as Anne of Denmark) was obviously a real person. However, Kate Foster doesn’t stick entirely to historical fact; for example, the real Anna was only fourteen years old when she married James VI, but Foster makes her slightly older at seventeen. She also uses the Celtic tradition of handfasting, which expires after a year, to introduce the idea that Anna was ‘on trial’ and the marriage would only go ahead if she managed to please James. I didn’t feel that this – or the fictional lover Foster creates for Anna – was really necessary or added much to the book and I would have preferred Anna’s story to follow the facts, considering we already had two other entirely fictional viewpoint characters.

The witchcraft aspect of the book is interesting, particularly the connection between the North Berwick witch trials, in which Jura is involved, and previous trials in Germany and Denmark which inspired James VI to take similar action. The storms that delay Anna’s voyage to Scotland in the novel really happened and really were blamed on witches. The King’s paranoia increases until he decides that the town of North Berwick (not to be confused with Berwick-upon-Tweed, by the way) is a nest of witches plotting to kill him, possibly in league with the Earl of Bothwell, and eventually more than 70 people are implicated. Foster explores all of this not just from the perspective of Jura, who is directly affected as a suspected witch, but also Anna from her position close to the King, and Kirsten, who provides a sort of bridge between the two worlds.

Even with the addition of the Anna and James angle, this book felt a bit too similar to other books I’ve read about historical witches, but obviously that won’t be a problem if you haven’t read as many of them as I have! I did still find it enjoyable and will have to look for Kate Foster’s first book, The Maiden, which I haven’t read.

The King's Witches - A Bewitching Historical Novel by Kate Foster was on point in so many ways.

Princess Anne of Denmark is betrothed to King James I of Scotland. But in the dark times of strict theocracy, and a constant threat of being usurped by the nobles of the land, she has to prove herself as worthy of the role and her Lady in Waiting Kirsten Sorenson will do everything in her power to ensure her mistress passes that test

Things become increasingly tense in Scottish soceity as accusations of witchcraft increase, with no safe harbour for the accused. Jura, a housemaid from Berwick (Northumberland) flees to Edinburgh, her innocent healing charms being misconstrued as something darker. However, she is soon embroiled in the chaos erupting from the scrutiny of Anna of Denmark.

From the character profiles, to dialogue, to authenticity to the era, using Scottish witch trials instead of he more well known Salem trials. The intriguing, meticulously crafted plotline wrapped it all upinto a novel that had me absolutely rapt start to finish.


Thank you to Netgalley, Pan Macmillan and Kate Foster for this brilliant ARC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

“Women whisper secrets to each other; it is how we survive”
Gripping new novel on the fascinating infamous witch hunts, particularly focusing on the witch hunts in Denmark & Scotland
Told from the points of view of 3 different women from differing backgrounds, but all having a reason to fear the witch hysteria.
Quite an emotional read but well worth the investment
Thanks @katefosterwrites @panmacmillan & @netgalley for the fascinating read

I found it a bit slow to begin with but after a few chapters I was really enjoying it.
It's awful to believe how a lot of women were treated because they were believed to be witches! Great characters and a good historical read.
Will be looking out for more books by Kate Foster.
Thank you netgalley