The Hanging of Margaret Dickson: New Edition

by Alison J. Butler

In an age when women are expected to know their place, be submissive, dutiful and chaste, Maggie Dickson, a Musselburgh fishwife, is often in trouble. She’s outspoken, promiscuous and vituperative. While her husband’s at sea, she sells her fish, sleeps with men for pleasure or money and looks after her two children. In time, her husband abandons her. Maggie quits Musselburgh and heads for Newcastle to stay with relatives.

During the winter of 1723, a fisherman finds the dead, naked body of a baby boy. Fingers are soon pointing in the direction of a stranger working in a local tavern, a woman recently estranged from her mariner husband. It is rumoured that she’s been having a passionate affair with the innkeeper’s young son, William Bell, and that he is the father of the dead child.

Maggie is arrested and taken to Edinburgh tollbooth to await trial, is found guilty and is sentenced to death. The news spreads like wildfire and, as Maggie languishes in jail, the whole city speculates whether or not she killed her child. Will she take her secret to her grave?

The Hanging of Maggie Dickson is a heartrending tale of obsession and unrequited love.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical, Scotland

168 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2013

About the author

You can follow me on twitter at : https://twitter.com/halfhangitmaggy





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Alison Butler was born in the 1970s in Liverpool. She's married to Dave, is a proud northerner and is the mother of 4 children . An interest in the history of crime, punishment and torture resulted in her writing her first novel - The Hanging of Margaret Dickson, based on the true story of a convicted 18th century Scottish fishwife.

Reviews are welcome, good and bad - Alison's always listening and learning ;) ❤️

Reviews

[Connie G]

"She was a free spirit and she did as she damned well pleased."
"She paid for it too."
"Aye, she did."

Author Alison J. Butler has brought the true 18th Century Scottish legend of Half Hangit Maggie to life. Maggie Dickson was a headstrong, independent fishwife living in Musselburgh. She was a beautiful, lusty young woman who attracted men. When her husband disappeared she headed to Newcastle to find him, but stopped at a tavern along the way to shelter from the inclement weather. She accepted a job at the tavern where she met the handsome son of the innkeeper. Soon her actions led to legal trouble, and she was thrown into the filthy Tolbooth (jail). The rest of Maggie's remarkable history is an amazing tale.

Maggie's story appeared to be well-researched, and kept my interest. Unfortunately, a proofreader does not seem to have looked at the last part of the book. 3.5 stars.

[Marie Macpherson]

Write the book that you'd want to read, that no one else has written, is the advice often given to writers. I'm sure that's what Alison J Butler has done in The Hanging of Margaret Dickson
Alison Butler's reconstruction of Maggie's life is a gripping tale that grabs the reader by the throat from the very start. It is clearly a labour of love meticulously researched, teeming with historical detail that is skilfully interwoven into the narrative and gives a clear picture of the daily grind of a fishwife in 18th century Scotland. Though at times I felt like wringing Maggie's selfish neck I have to admire her feisty nature and her efforts to rise out of the stinking fishnet that threatens to strangle her. But who can blame her? Looking for happiness she finds pleasure aplenty for which she pays a high price.

I hope that the rumours that it is to be made into a film are true - in 3D complete with smells. This thrilling story deserves a wider audience - and may even put Musselburgh and Fisherrow on the map!

[Stuart Laing]

I approached this story thinking I knew the rough background to the legend of Half Hangit Maggie, but Alison Butler has done a simply wonderful job of adding flesh, blood and bones to the story. Her writing breathes life into a fantastic array of characters who bring real colour and drama to the book, and it is easy to lose yourself in the rich reek of the harbour at Musselburgh as fishwives clean their catch amid the jumble of creels and nets, or the heady stink of Edinburgh where thousands live cheek by jowl in a city with little or no sanitation.
I found myself being drawn deeper and deeper into the story by the skilful use of fact and fiction to create a satisfying whole. Butler's research and deep love of the story shines through and adds real depth to the book along with a plethora of details which just adds to the overall picture. Wonder no more why women go out on Hen Nights before their weddings! Or why sailors don't wish to be between the Devil and the deep blue sea!
From Maggie's childhood, teenage years and her marriage, at the age of 17 which brings more disappointment than pleasure for the headstrong Maggie we follow her life through it's ups and downs. It is her undoubted desire to enjoy the finer things in life which leads her into flirtations with prostitution but through it all she always finds herself going back to her husband. It is to Butler's credit that she still manages to have you rooting for Maggie despite her wilful and wild ways that could so easily have made her a deeply unlikeable character.
Even though the book is moving towards the inevitable date with the gallows of the Grassmarket you find yourself hoping that somehow Maggie will mend her ways. Unfortunately, history cannot be changed and the descriptions of the Tolbooths in Kelso and Edinburgh will leave you scratching yourself at the image of bodies crawling with filth and lice and chained in unlit, stinking cells.
18th Century Scotland lives and breathes through the pages of this book. From the stink of the midden to the tantalising aroma of French perfume this a book which fills your senses, and like a rich broth leaves you satisfied.
Bravo to Alison Butler for a job well done.

[Babus Ahmed]

Margaret Dickson attracts trouble and controversy from a young age, she marries Patrick Spence and has a tumultuous relationship with him. when Patrick is gone for a long time she makes her way to Newcastle to find him but stops in Kelso due to stormy weather. Margaret stays to wait out the storm but is drawn to William Bell the innkeeper's son, when their passion results in Margaret's pregnancy she conceals her condition. She gives birth alone and the subsequent death of her baby sees her charged with murder. She is sentenced to hang but will her demise of her child ever be explained?

I was fully immersed into eighteenth century Musselburgh and all the local sights, smells and customs with this intricate yet gripping account of Margaret Dickson's life. I do not read historical fiction very often, and the nature of this story is biographical as there really was a Margaret Dickson. Alison Butler, author, of this mesmerising tale has recounted and researched this story flawlessly.

An exceptional read for historical and crime thriller fans.

[Jill]

A moving story set in 18th century Scotland, this fictionalized account of a true story captures the difficulties facing women who do not conform to society's expectations of virtuous wives and good mothers. We know Maggie's fate from the title but we stay with her story because the author creates a sympathetic picture of the life of fish wives, their hardships and exuberant independence. Sometimes the historical research is poorly integrated into the fiction, but generally the story is well sustained and the characters maintain our interest.

[Olivia Fox]

I had never heard of Maggie Dickson until I read this book, a book I came across by chance and decided to read on a whim. I love reading fiction that brings women of history to life; women who don’t get their stories told or who are misunderstood. It brought me many different feelings towards Maggie. I admired her boldness, despised her selfishness but on the whole I loved her humanity. A very gripping read

[mrrmaid]

This book had tons of potential. While I almost abandoned it half-way through, I’m satisfied that I hung in to the end. However, the truly messy writing (some sentences I had to re-read several times to figure out what was meant), mis-spellings, horrible punctuation & capitalization errors were a major distraction for me. If this sort of thing doesn’t get in your way, I recommend a try at least.

[Barbara J Wicks]

A most interesting read

A novel based on the life of a real woman in the early 1700s. It includes her fears,joys, and mistakes and has a most unexpected ending. The photos and ephemera at the end are a wonderful addition.

[Jayne Hancock]

Loved it. A gripping page turner

[Chris Waugh]

As an Edinburgh lad, I was aware of the story of Half-Hangit Maggie, but had never given it much thought. Alison J Butler has clearly meticulously researched the history around this woman's life and then woven a rich narrative between the known facts. It would have been easy to portray the central character of Maggie as an innocent victim of less enlightened times or as a selfish, cold-hearted woman who got what was coming to her, but the author makes her a human being, and as such she is capable of the frailties and nobilities which being human confers upon all of us. Highly recommended.

[Chrissy Bowmont]

Thought this book could have been better, if a book doesn't grab oneself within the first few chapters then it probably never will. I put this book down and move onto another very easliy, without ever once wondering what happened in the rest of the story. I also see the author has written another short story " and his messages grew colder" which seems to be very reminiscent of the famous author Daphne Du Maurier's "and his letters grew colder".

[Carol Fenlon]

It's a great story and Butler has obviously researched it meticulously. This shows through at times but it is certainly interesting and she has incorporated a lot of folklore and details of local customs from the area. I did find myself wanting to get to the end and the 'meat' of the story but it's a good first novel and I can see it making a great screenplay.

[Ajay Kansal]

I am eagerly waiting this book to read. I have a fair idea about it and therefore sure that it would be a great book. My best wishes are there for the talented author Ms Alison.

[Michaela O'shea]

A passionate, heart warming story which kept me hooked from start to end. An amazing first effort for my talented Sister-in-Law!

[Toni L.]

I would suggest people to read what others
have to say about this book. I thought
it was really great and I would recommend
it to others.

[Chelsea]

An interesting remaining of the life of 'Half-Hangit Maggie".