This book is a slow burn but the payoff is there. Isobel is a young, innocent (though not naive), attractive and devoted church goer circa 1630 who, despite having been paired with her true love to be wed when she comes of age, ends up being betrothed to an old and violent man who makes her life miserable – until, she secretly has an abortion which then leads her down a path of darkness and debauchery – and copious copulation with the devil himself! Reading Isobel, for what it is b-grade horror and a product of the mass market 70’s and 80’s boom, makes it all the more devilishly delicious. Like the Amityville Horror, Isobel, a mass market paperback horror is ‘based’ on a true story – but it doesn’t read that way, in fact, I wasn’t even aware the events of which this book is based on (1600’s witch trials/demonic cult worshiping, sex with supernatural beings etc…) were the primary source material. I enjoyed the read for what it is and if you are into tragic love stories with a twist of the occult then this book will be a treat! In the end, this book delivers a fictional take on the tragic life of Isobel Gowdie and a look at witchcraft and devil worshipers in the 17th century. The witchcraft rituals and ceremonies with explicit satanistic erotica and supernatural powers are well described in the book. The fall of Isobel from almost a novice nun to maiden of the Devil is told in detail. Faith and religion are core to the novel as it was pervasive in everyone's life in Scotland 17th century. It becomes dark and tragic, with the setting of an abused woman in a new marriage. The novel is a tragedy so although Parkhurst dedicates one third of the book to the love story, it quickly turns sour. The friends and family of Gowdie add to the drama of the hardships that a woman of that era faced. The traditions and courtship of the era are well exposed by Parkhurst. The story begins in 1652 Scotland and it develops as love story between two young people. The novel is based on a true story of the self-proclaimed witch Isobel Gowdie.

Isobel jane parkhurst