“We are fonder of stories about fairies and banshees,” explains Irish writer via email to Celtic Life International. “Perhaps it is part of our opinion of ourselves as a country of saints – allying ourselves to people who were accused of worshipping the devil wouldn’t fit our good self-image.”

One day at school, however, Aitkin heard the name Alice Kyteler. “A teacher mentioned her as the type of woman we girls ought never to become.”

Kyteler was the first person on record in Ireland to be accused and condemned for witchcraft. In 1324, she fled, escaping persecution but leaving her servant to be burned at the stake. Among other things, Kyeter was believed to have sacrificed animals and consorted with demons. She was even said to have murdered all four of her husbands.

“I was quite frightened of this portrayal of her,” admits Aitkin. “It was only as an adult I began to see her in a different light and thought there might be more to her story.”

This led to the creation of Aitken’s second novel, Bright I Burn. Aitken simply “couldn’t resist” writing about such a unique historical figure.

“Alice Kyteler was unlike any Irish woman I had ever heard of – wildly, ruthlessly ambitious, and so influential and powerful that she could sway and influence the Irish legal system, and so independently wealthy that she made people jealous. I had never heard of an Irish woman like this, much less one living 700 years ago.” These character traits fascinated and disturbed Aitken in equal measure, and she was determined to tell the tale.

Fortunately, there is no shortage of historical records about Alice Kyteler, and Aitken learned a great deal through research.

“There were wonderful details I found about her business. For example, she was a moneylender and lent the equivalent of millions today to the King of England to help fund his war with Scotland. I was also extremely lucky to have access to an incredible archive in Kilkenny where Alice lived.”

In fact, Kyteler’s Inn – the one the accused witch ran all those centuries ago – still stands in Kilkenny today. It is now a pub, featuring a black cat on its logo. Aitken even wrote some of the novel there.

Despite all her research, however, Bright I Burn is generally a work of fiction.

“What I didn’t know was how Alice, or any of the other people felt. I didn’t know her motivations for some of the terrible things that she did. This was where my novelist’s license came in. I had to use my imagination, and at times chose the more fun or dramatic option, because why not?”

Although Aitken’s first novel, The Island Child, was published in 2021, writing Bright I Burn was a different process.

“I wrote this novel in the first year of my son’s life. I often only could snatch an hour to write. This made my chapters quite short, but I feel it improved the novel. It made the writing feverish and vital.” Additionally, Aitken sensed something of a spiritual connection to Kyteler.

“I felt like she was speaking to me. It was a strange experience, unlike any I’ve had before when writing, and likely I’ll never experience it again…”

Touring the book for promotional purposes, Aitken learned that many people had never heard of Alice Kyteler – even in Ireland itself. Nonetheless, audience connected with the story on a deep emotional level.

Aitken hopes the story, and stories like Kyteler’s, will continue to spread.

“Women’s history has always been reduced, silenced or ignored. However, witch trials are well documented. We have a wealth of knowledge about these, for the most part, horrendously violent and sexist cases. Now, there is a general interest in resuscitating the pasts of women, for finding those names we have forgotten, and hopefully re-examining their trials to show that most of these women did nothing wrong. Generally, they were scapegoats, and unlike Alice Kyteler they were often poor without influential friends to help them. I really hope people re-examine their country’s history. So many histories have been silenced or told through a misogynistic, racist and colonialist lens.”

Bright I Burn was recently published in North America. Aitken is currently working on a novel inspired by Roman mythology, about the mother of Romulus and Remus.

@MollyAitken1