The Mourning Necklace by Kate Foster

‘Moving and masterful . . . transports you to 18th-century Scotland and says as much about modern life as it does about those harrowing times’ – Janice Hallett, bestselling author of The Appeal

Inspired by an infamous real-life case, The Mourning Necklace is the unforgettable original feminist historical novel from the Women’s Prize-longlisted author of The Maiden, Kate Foster. 

They said I would swing for the crime and I did . . . I wear the rope-mark like a mourning necklace. 1724.

In a tavern just outside Edinburgh, the family of Maggie Dickson – hanged for the murder of her newborn child – drown their sorrows, mourning her death yet relieved she is gone. Shame haunts them; passers-by avert their eyes from her cheap coffin on its rickety cart. But as her family pray her soul rests in peace, a figure appears at the door.

It is Maggie. She is alive. Bruised and dazed, Maggie has little time for her family’s questions.

All that matters to her is answering one: will they hang her twice?

Praise for Kate Foster:

'Riveting . . . The tension persists until the last page' - The Times

'Tense, thrilling . . . with a decidedly feminist slant' - Daily Mail

‘Kate excels at bringing the forgotten women of history back to life and giving them the attention they deserve’ – Claire Evans, author of The Fourteenth Letter

‘Captivating . . . Scratch beneath the surface of a Kate Foster novel and all of life is there in the most elegant prose’ – Marion Todd, author of the bestselling DI Clare Mackay series

‘Brilliant . . . the new Hilary Mantel’ – Tina Baker, author of What We Did In The Storm

Format:Paperback / softback 304 pages
Publisher:Pan Macmillan
Imprint:Pan Books
ISBN:9781035052073
Published:5 Feb 2026
Classifications:Historical fiction, Fiction: special features
Weight:214g
Dimensions:196 x 130 x 21 (mm)