Unspeakable

Edinburgh in the late 17th century is centre of religious authoritarianism, intolerance and fear. The flames of the city’s famous Enlightenment are yet to burn.Based on the true story of Thomas Aikenhead, this is the fictional account of a 20 year-old student who was the last person in Britain to be tried and executed for blasphemy.Dilys Rose is one of Scotland’s very best literary writers. This is a brilliant historical novel, from an acclaimed and award-winning writer at the height of her powers, with great resonance for today.

Reviews of Unspeakable

Based on a true case, here a young man pays the ultimate price for saying what he thinks in this masterful historical novel by a writer at the height of her powers. Edinburgh in the late 17th century is centre of religious authoritarianism, intolerance and fear. The flames of the city's famous Enlightenment are yet to burn.Based on the true story of Thomas Aikenhead, this is the fictional account of a 20 year-old student who was the last person in Britain to be tried and executed for blasphemy.Dilys Rose is one of Scotland's very best literary writers. This is a brilliant historical novel, from an acclaimed and award-winning writer at the height of her powers, with great resonance for today. Dilys Rose lives in Edinburgh and teaches Creative Writing at the University of Edinburgh. She writes mainly poetry and fiction but has also written some drama and, more recently, text for music. Awards include: The Macallan/Scotland on Sunday Short Story Award, Canongate Prize, McVities Prize, Scottish Arts Council Book Award and the McCash Prize. Dilys Rose is one of the finest prose writers around. In this vividly atmospheric novel she portrays the complexity of life in seventeenth-century Edinburgh in rich detail, bringing to life the unforgettable character of Thomas Aikenhead with subtley and deep humanity.' Anne Donovan, author of Gone are the Leaves and Buddha Da