Review of The Trials of Mary Johnsdaughter
Christine De Luca is well known to Shetland readers for her poetry and her advocacy of the Shetlandic tongue. This is her second novel (her first, And Then Forever, was set in Canada and Edinburgh but with Shetland connections). She set The Trials of Mary Johnsdaughter in her home township of Waas (Walls).
The two striking aspects of the book are the creative use of language and the fact that it is based on an actual series of entries in the Kirk Session Records. In 1773 the Batchelor of Leith, bound for North Carolina from Thurso with emigrants, arrived in Waas after being driven off course for weeks by storms; it was then so badly damaged by another storm that it could not leave for several months. Accommodating and feeding the emigrants put a strain on local resources but the story focuses on the relationship between Mary and a married member of the crew, which left her pregnant, out of a job and charged by the Kirk Session with adultery (strictly speaking, wrongly, as she was not married).
Mary was a bright, intelligent and feisty girl who had been educated at the newly opened Happyhansel School and worked for the teacher there. One of the means of paying for the school (not mentioned in the book) was the increased fines exacted by the Kirk Session. Mary had to face their judgment and, after walking to Lerwick, that of the equally misogynistic Presbytery. These were her 'trials'.
There are some anachronisms (and adultery was not a capital crime). While recognising that it was acknowledged that Mary's home was of somewhat higher standard than the majority of croft or cottar houses, the general living conditions are described as more comfortable than they probably were. And again, while it's mentioned that resources were limited, the diet seems more varied and plentiful than was likely. Life in eighteenth century Shetland was even harder than portrayed.
Waas and Happyhansel are where Christine grew up and her love for the area shines through her account. She tells her story in both English, for the narrative, and Shetlandic, for the speech, with a helpful glossary. This innovative approach helps to emphasis the dichotomy between the authorities and the less well-off people in a story which will appeal to both Shetlandic speakers and others.
Review of 'The Trials of Mary Johnsdaughter', Linda Riddell, Shetland Family History Society, Coontin Kin, Hairst 2022