200,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock 🇳🇿 

Black Friday Sale on Now! Save up to 25% off Books, Toys, Board Games, & Puzzles! ✨

A Fire in Their Hearts

Claiming their freedom was their only crime
By Philip Paris
0.0 (0 reviews)
Brief Description
Locked in the hold when the crew abandons their ship, The Crown of London, Violet and Samuel cling to each other as the doomed vessel breaks up on rocks off the islands of Orkney. Their love for each other has helped them survive a conflict that... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$3799
AVAILABLE WITH SUPPLIER Ships from our Auckland warehouse within 4-6 weeks

Found a better price? Request a price match

Scotland, 1679. Hunted, held prisoner and banished for a belief . . .

Scotland, 1662. Hunted, held prisoner and banished for a belief . . .

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Locked in the hold when the crew abandons their ship, The Crown of London, Violet and Samuel cling to each other as the doomed vessel breaks up on rocks off the islands of Orkney. Their love for each other has helped them survive a conflict that has dominated their lives since childhood. They have been persecuted and punished, fought through bitter battles and spent desperate months together as prisoners in Edinburgh's Greyfriars churchyard. Now, banished for life and being transported to work on a plantation in a far-off country, it seems they will pay the ultimate price for their defiance.

Scotland is being ripped apart by a civil war that has already seen thousands die as Covenanters fight the armies of King Charles II over who has the right to be head of the Church of Scotland—King or Jesus. As The Crown of London breaks in two, Violet and Samuel are sucked violently through the broken hull and into the waiting blackness and the freezing waters of the North Sea.

Violet is recaptured along with dozens of other Covenanters, but Samuel is not amongst them. Clinging to the hope that he has somehow survived and that they will meet again, Violet is sent to Barbados where she is forced to work as an indentured servant on a sugar plantation and experience horrors that she could never have imagined possible. But has Samuel survived? And can Violet ever escape her fate on the plantation to search for her lost soulmate?

This epic tale is the story of two ordinary people caught up in the Killing Times, bringing to life a brutal but forgotten period of Scottish history that forged a nation's future.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781785308635

Publisher: Bonnier Books Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 28 August 2025

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Black and White Publishing

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 31.0mm

Width: 154.0mm

Height: 234.0mm

Weight: 490g

Pages: 400

Collections

Fiction General Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Philip Paris

About the Author

Highland-based author Philip Paris is best known for his book The Last Witch of Scotland, the historical fiction The Italian Chapel and the non-fiction Orkney's Italian Chapel: The True Story of an Icon. His varied work includes Men Cry Alone, a contemporary novel that broke new ground in raising the profile of domestic abuse against men and which won the 2019 Scottish Association of Writers' Barbara Hammond trophy. Casting Off, a hilarious novel about residents in a Highland care home, was based on his sell-out stage play of the same name.

Also by Philip Paris

View all
  • The Italian Chapel
    The Italian Chapel
    Orkney 1942. Forbidden lovers, divided by war, united by a secret act. Amid the turmoil of the Second World War, a group of Italian prisoners is sent to the remote Orkney island of Lamb Holm. In the freezing conditions, hunger and untold hardships of Camp 60, this ragtag band must work together to survive. Domenico, a talented artist, is among...
    By Philip Paris
    Paperback
    $2799
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • A Fire in Their Hearts
    Pre-order
    A Fire in Their Hearts
    'A memorable novel' - The Sunday Times 'A gripping story' - The Scotsman 'A poignant love story suffused with a deep, moving humanity' - The Herald SCOTLAND, 1662. One love. One belief. One eternal flame. As civil war tears through the country and King Charles II tightens his grip on the Church of Scotland, childhood sweethearts Violet and Samuel are...
    By Philip Paris
    Paperback
    $2799
    Pre-order
    Out 5 Jan 2027
  • The Last Witch of Scotland
    Being a woman was her only crime. Scottish Highlands, 1727. In the aftermath of a tragic fire that kills her father, Aila and her mother, Janet, move to the remote parish of Loth, north-west of Inverness. Blending in does not come easily to the women: Aila was badly burned in the fire and left with visible injuries, while her mother...
    By Philip Paris
    Paperback
    Sold Out

Browse lists from our team

The Latest at Book Hero

View all

More from Historical Fiction

View all
  • New Release
    The Piano Teacher of Montparnasse
    In 1942, the Nazis came for a Jewish family living in Montparnasse, occupied Paris. In the chaos of their arrest, the eleven-year-old daughter fled to the only person she trusted: her piano teacher... The author of the international bestseller, The Tattooist of Auschwitz, returns with a masterful new novel that captures the astonishing bravery of ordinary people in extraordinary times....
    By Heather Morris
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • New Release
    The Flying Girls
    A gripping drama from the #1 bestselling author, inspired by the pioneering female pilots who served with the Air Transport Auxiliary during World War II. Initially viewed with scepticism, these women became a crucial, high-skilled, and often unsung force that ferried 309,000 aircraft—from trainers to heavy bombers—from factories to Royal Air Force frontline bases, freeing up male combat pilots. The...
    By Olivia Spooner
    Paperback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Art Lovers
    New Release
    The Art Lovers
    The heart-stopping new historical adventure by the bestselling author of The Soldier's Daughter. While war rages across the city of Valletta, a local barkeeper's daughter, Valentina Camilleri, is on the cusp of womanhood when Flight Lieutenant Peter Fox falls out of the sky from his Spitfire and into her world. In that fateful moment, he captures not just her imagination...
    By Fiona McIntosh
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • On Sale
    27% off
    The Parisian Chapter
    From the New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Library and The Librarians of Rue de Picardie comes a charming and cinematic novel following a young woman from Montana who lands a job in the American Library in Paris, where she discovers the power of storytelling and writes her own Parisian chapter.'Stirring and rich with detail' New York Times...
    By Janet Skeslien Charles
    Paperback
    $2200
    Elsewhere:
    $3499
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • On Sale
    16% off
    Inferno
    AD 60. Nero Claudius Caesar is Emperor. He is feared for his temper. He is known to be intoxicated by the power he wields. And why not? The Roman Empire stretches from the wilds of Britain to the deserts of Parthia. Nero is god of all he surveys. Yet dangerous traitors lie close at hand. Generals commanding legions. Senators whispering...
    By Conn Iggulden
    Paperback
    $2600
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Circle of Days
    From the master of epic fiction comes the deeply human story of one of the world's greatest mysteries: the building of Stonehenge. A FLINT MINER WITH A GIFT Seft, a talented flint miner, walks the Great Plain in the high summer heat, to witness the rituals that signal the start of a new year. He is there to trade his...
    By Ken Follett
    Hardback
    $4499
    Elsewhere:
    $6000
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • On Sale
    17% off
    The Soldier's Daughter
    The heart-stopping new blockbuster by the bestselling author of The Fallen Woman. Violet Nash has grown up in the shadows of her father Charlie's shattered dreams. It's been years since he walked away from the battlefields of France, a WWI hero but his heart in tatters, only to see it broken all over again in the worst way possible. In...
    By Fiona McIntosh
    Paperback
    $2500
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Girl with the Suitcase
    The enthralling new novel from the 10-million-copy, No. 1 bestselling author. London 1941 When Mary meets a glamorous stranger named Elizabeth, she realises their lives couldn't be more different. But when an air raid forces them to take shelter underground, Mary's life is set to change forever. After waking up in hospital, injured but alive, the nurse mistakes her for...
    By Lesley Pearse
    Paperback
    $3099
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • On Sale
    23% off
    The Lost Bookshop
    Evie Woods' stunning new novel The Story Collector is available now. The Echo of Old Books meets The Lost Apothecary in this evocative and charming novel full of mystery and secrets. ‘The thing about books,’ she said ‘is that they help you to imagine a life bigger and better than you could ever dream of.’ On a quiet street in...
    By Evie Woods
    Paperback
    $1700
    Elsewhere:
    $2500
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • All the Diamonds in Paris
    Kristin Harmel is firmly in the top echelon of WW2 storytellers - HEATHER MORRIS A master storyteller - SANTA MONTEFIORE The best at sweeping historical drama - KELLY HARMS A dazzling diamond of a novel - HAZEL GAYNOR * Paris, 1942: Anabel Martinet is a jewel thief, descended from a family that has spent centuries stealing from the unkind and...
    By Kristin Harmel
    Paperback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Listeners
    ‘By turns a beautiful love story, a fascinating glimpse into the horrors of history and a haunting tale of loyalty and courage. A marvel of storytelling’ CHRIS WHITAKER, bestselling author of All the Colours of the Dark The Avallon Hotel offers unrivalled luxury in the wild Appalachian Mountains, its curative sweetwater washing away the troubles of high society. June 'Hoss'...
    By Maggie Stiefvater
    Paperback
    $3600
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Atmosphere
    The new novel by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones & The Six. An epic novel set against the backdrop of the 1980s space shuttle programme and the extraordinary lengths we go to live and love beyond our limits. In the summer of 1980, astrophysics professor Joan Goodwin begins...
    By Taylor Jenkins Reid
    Paperback
    $3200
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 200,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.