The Prisoner Of St Kilda

On 22 January 1732, Lady Grange was alone in her lodgings in Old Town Edinburgh when she was brutally assaulted, gagged, and bound. No-one came to her aid as she was hurriedly taken out of the town to a posse of silent horsemen awaiting the kidnappers. Forced to mount and ride away, she would never again see Edinburgh, and her children were told she was dead.

Spending thirteen years in exile on remote Scottish islands, she died on the Isle of Skye in 1745, years after her 'funeral' had been held in Edinburgh. With her fondness for drink and often outrageous behaviour, few people found her sudden disappearance surprising. Some suspected the truth, however, and when she finally managed to smuggle letters back to Edinburgh, a boat was sent to rescue her. But the attempt failed and she was immediately taken off the island by her captors, and was moved around and imprisoned in various hideouts for the rest of her life.

In this intriguing and fascinating book, Macauley sheds light on the story of Lady Grange, her kidnappers, and the haunted conscience of her husband, gathering evidence previously covered up and making sense of a tale lost to the ages.