‘The Pure Heart’ book review: Gothic tale set on isolated Scottish island will keep you hooked

ISBN 978 1 912626 00 7

Seventeen-year-old Iseabail McCleod lives with her mother and younger sister on an island in the remote North Atlantic archipelago of St Kilda, about 160km off the coast of Scotland. Her life, though far from easy, is a simple and happy one.

Today, there are no permanent residents on St Kilda. The islands were evacuated in the 1930 when the few remaining inhabitants moved to the Scottish mainland, leaving behind centuries of hardship and isolation.

Trudie Tweedie’s chilling Gothic tale The Pure Heart begins in a fishing village on the island during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1 (1558-1603).

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A trip to the closest island takes several days. Very few risk their lives in the stormy seas to sail to or from St Kilda even in the summer months. Only reckless sailors would try it in autumn.

But early one mid-September evening, a lone boat sails into view, and changes Iseabail’s life forever.

Iseabail has a pure personality and heart, and such a girl is sought by a mysterious benefactor hundreds of kilometres away in the borderlands between England and Scotland.

The boat brings lies and deception, but also an offer that the islanders of St Kilda cannot refuse.

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The sailor has braved the treacherous seas to make a transaction on behalf of his master, a rich Italian merchant Alexander Plaustrell.

The island community will be given supplies to help them survive the coming winter if they allow Iseabail to be taken to the mainland to become the companion to Plaustrell’s young daughter, Maria. The deal is done, and Iseabail agrees to go with the sailor.

Alert readers will feel that something is not quite right. And they would be correct.

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One of the most important components of a Gothic novel is the spooky mansion where the action takes place. The Pure Heart certainly delivers this.

The Plaustrell mansion lies close to a spring with health-giving properties, and a tree whose trunk is said to contain the Devil, grows in its grounds. Obelisks stand at the entrance to the estate to ward off intruders.

When Iseabail arrives at the Plaustrell home she learns from Maria that her mother has died from the plague. Maria’s father is obsessed with discovering a cure for the disease, spending many hours locked up in a tower next to the mansion conducting experiments.

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But what’s really going on? What is the real reason Iseabail has been brought to this strange place?

The Pure Heart won the Times/Chicken House children’s fiction prize in 2018, and it’s not difficult to see why. It is a twisty, compulsive tale built around a gripping mystery with compelling characters driving the plot. Tweedie fuels her story with doubts and suspicions that will keep readers on tenterhooks until the conclusion.

Readers looking for a well-written, suspense-packed novel need look no further than this tale of a pure heart faced with obsession and evil.