Reviews - The Maiden | The StoryGraph

689 reviews for:

The Maiden

Kate Foster

3.9 AVERAGE

tamsinmarsh's review against another edition

4.25

emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

leniverse's review against another edition

3.5

medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

melody_books's review against another edition

5.0

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

amy_park's review against another edition

DID NOT FINISH: 16%

The writing style wasn't for me. I was getting bored and the uncle relationship was not sitting well. I started to read the Violet sections which were conversational and poorly written. I didn't believe the time setting.
Will give this a second go on audio as the book is longlisted for the women's prize 2024.

shrewno2's review against another edition

4.25

dark emotional sad medium-paced

kateroyer's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

what_emma_read_next's review against another edition

3.5

dark tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I’d describe The Maiden as a feminist historical crime novel and a definite page turner. It has a real sense of place and time in 17th Century Scotland, and boy does it sound a miserable place and time for a woman to find herself in. The theme of the silencing of women’s voices and the patriarchal presbyterian church really made me root for our three main female characters: Christian, Violet, and Oriana. This despite the fact that they’re rarely rooting for one another!

That I read this in 48 hours tells you it’s compelling. Short chapters also help to keep the pace going, some from Christian’s perspective and some from Violet’s. It’s another book that I probably wouldn’t have read if it hadn’t made it onto the Women’s Prize longlist, which is always a bonus. I don’t expect to see it on the shortlist as I don’t think it has the complexity, but it’s a good story and a way of bringing another unknown woman from history out into the light.