I do seem to have a habit of running up and down the medieval cobbles, or ‘cassies’, of Aberdeen in the name of research.
Correction Wynd
Here I am again, travelling down Correction Wynd, site of the 17th century House of Correction. But it’s not the old poorhouse/jail that I’m investigating. Not today anyway…
I pass St Nicholas Kirk, where people accused of witchcraft were held in the 16th century.

It’s time to move on from that now.
On from THE MERMAID AND THE BEAR.
Researching and writing those times have led me to another.

Over the cobbles I go, glancing up at the modern city above.

Over the Cobbles to the Green
Through the beam of light and into the, also rather modern seeming, Green.

The kidnapped children of Aberdeen were held here in the 1740s. In a barn.

Passers by sometimes heard music coming from the place as the kidnappers tried to keep the children entertained.

These events inspired my novel Fireflies and Chocolate, and the Green is specifically mentioned:

“Another barn,” notes Peter, when we are ushered into a large ramshackle wooden building. Again we find a space to sit together, among the others. Again, we are on the floor, this time an earthen one. No chairs are provided for the likes of us anywhere now it seems. “I was kept in a barn in Aberdeen,” he tells me. “Down at the Green.”
I ken the Green. I used to think it was a nice place to walk through, a space between buildings, like a city version of a forest glade.
The Tolbooth
The children were also kept in the Tolbooth at times. There are tales of desperate parents trying to break down the door to get to them. Peter Williamson, who appears in the above quote, would be held there again in later life as punishment for his book, in which he accused the town magistrates of involvement in the kidnappings. You can read a large print version in the Tolbooth museum today beside a life size cut out of Peter!
He’s not the main character in Fireflies and Chocolate, though. That’s Elizabeth Manteith, who is entirely fictional. But I love her. In their press release about the book the publisher describes her like this:
Fiery and forthright, Elizabeth isn’t someone to be argued with. She knows her own mind, and isn’t afraid to speak it. Through her experiences, the reader sees her grow from a girl, into a woman with a powerful voice… a woman of her time, but very much of ours too.

Those dark cobbles of Aberdeen do take me places!
The Book
Torn out of her isolated life in a Scottish castle, Elizabeth embarks on a determined quest to return home. Exhilarating adventures unfold on the high seas, love blossoms, and the chocolate, purchased in Ben Franklin’s printing shop, is delicious!
FIREFLIES AND CHOCOLATE was inspired by the 600 children and young people who were kidnapped from Aberdeen during the 1740s and sold into indentured servitude in the American Colonies.
“Filled with excitement and suspense…” Historical Novel Society Editor’s Pick

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On reflection it is no wonder you are a novelist, each stone in Edinburg must have a story. Lovely moody photography.
So much history everywhere!
Loved this article. The photos reminded me of Hogwarts!
Glad you like 🙂
I didn’t know such a kidnapping happened. I can see how these places inspired you.
It was a terrible thing, the kidnapping.
Thank You for the wonderful article and the amazing photos …. You took me to those alleys … and a note of how some heard the music that the kidnappers tried to confiscate the children … and the photo … my jaw completely dropped in amazement, how it fit together ….. and traveling through a flash of light on photo…. a real journey through time … a very hilarious article … congratulations, Ailish,
I will have to improve my English even more, so that I can read your book one day!
Your English is pretty good!
Great post. I live in Lancashire right at the foot of Pendle Witch and all its appalling history. Sometimes I’ll go back and start reading up all the details and each time is more horrifying than the last at how horrendous the whole thing really was.
More recently I discovered “The Ninth Wave” by Kate Bush and in particular the track “Waking the Witch” in which she is dreaming of being tried by a perverse witchhunter who has tied a rock to her leg in the aim of her being found guilty by the baying crowds.
Absolutely horrifying what those women must have endured.
https://youtu.be/QqRbPMjBHz8
Thank you, I shall watch this later.
You mean that some parents knew where their children were, but nobody helped them? That seems to be a strong indication that the town magistrates were indeed involved.
I am looking forward to reeding it.
I have seen so little of Aberdeen, when I passed through in 1973, just a parking place somewhere down at the waterfront.
The fact they were able to utilise the town jail at all is a strong indicator against the magistrates too. I hope you enjoy the book!
Fascinating!
Thank you!
Beautiful photos, I did my undergrad degree at Aberdeen and have such fond memories of those cobbled streets.
They are beautiful, despite the dark history around them.
Great photos (although I prefer those you take in the rural outdoors). My dad, who was a brick mason, would love the designs in those cobblestones! Congratulations, by the way, on the release of your new book! I hope that it sells well and gives you great encouragement on your NEXT book!
Thank you!
Great post, Ailish! Your photos make me want to get back up home.
I am reading Little Immigrants by Kenneth Bagnell about those children. So incredibly sad and important to remember. Beautiful pictures.
❤❤
Just showed up on my Kindle! Congratulations!
Thank you!
i love the post and the interspersed snippets from the book. Hope you sell a bunch.
Thank you so much!
How interesting, and we always so we are living in strange times but digging into history tells that all ages had their mysteries
Every age has its struggles, often caused or exacerbated by the elites of the time!
Picked up a sample. Looking forward to reading it.
I hope you enjoy 🙂
These pictures are fascinating. I ordered your book today. I will read it with your blog at hand so I can see these places as the story unfolds. your photography is beautiful.
Glad you like the pictures.
Beautiful post!
Glad you like!
Has me intrigued will be reading this, another side of Scotland. Xxx
I hope you enjoy it!
Miss the cobbles and much more of Aberdeen -and the vanished world of travelling so casually to Shetland.
It’s fascinating studying the interplay of dark and light in your photos. I imagine you novel handles a similar delicate balance.
I do write about dark subjects so it can be a tricky balance to strike.
Sounds wonderfully intriguing.
Thank you 🙂
I approved some connections recently. Maybe you were there?
My LinkedIn account is Byron Vidal.
Thank You Ailish.
Loved your photographs, there is this sort of calming beauty to it, and the story kind of adds more mystery to the streets.
Never seen a cobbled street… It looks cool.
I do love those cobbles 🙂
A fascinating thought – so valuable to read a fresh perspective. There’s a cobbled passage, right through our house – and I’d been taking it for granted.
Even our back yard’s cobbled… Lesson learned.
Intriguing post. Great photos! and I really love the Cover 🙂
Thank you!