The Last Bear

A haunting and compelling novel set one thousand years ago in the remote northwest Highlands of Scotland, "The Last Bear" recounts a tale of ecological and spiritual crisis from the viewpoint of one extraordinary woman. Taking the story of the extinction of the brown bear as its focal point, a story of love, jealousy, family and faith unfolds as Brigid, the last in a long line of medicine women, tries to live out her life in a time of upheaval without losing her cultural roots. Her personal struggle is set against a transforming world, as powerful Viking families clash with Celts and old pagan beliefs are challenged by Christian faith, changes that reach even into the timeless depths of the forest. Haggith weaves evocative descriptions of the natural world into a narrative that binds the characters ever more tightly into intrigue. Who killed the last bear in Scotland, and with what consequences?

This unique novel was the winner of the Robin Jenkins Literary Award in 2009 and Historical Novels Review Editor's Choice when it was first published in 2008.

'The Last Bear is as much poem as prose, a lament for the last bear in Scotland and the human ways of life that died with her. With the imposition of an alien religion the old harmonies are disrupted; the last bear is the final sacrifice of the old order. The Last Bear focuses on a pivotal historical moment, yet the results echo down the centuries: the pain and loss of The Last Bear is, in fact, our own.' Margaret Elphinstone


Genre: Historical