The straw chair

Set in the 18th century, 'The Straw Chair' tells the story of 17-year-old Isabel and her minister husband's arrival on the remote island of Hirta, or St Kilda. Their encounter with the island's inhabitants, and especially the disturbing Rachel of Grange, changes their lives forever. A real historical figure, Rachel of Grange was involved in a bitter divorce; her actions led to her erstwhile husband being successfully tried for treason. He, in turn, had her kidnapped and incarcerated on various remote Scottish islands. 'The Straw Chair', premiered in Edinburgh in 1988, is set during one such incarceration, on Hirta.