The dark year of Dundee: A tale of the Scottish Reformation

The dark year of Dundee by Deborah Alcock is a historical novel written in the late 19th century. Set during the Scottish Reformation, it focuses on the ministry of George Wishart amid a plague in Dundee, seen chiefly through the sufferings and spiritual awakenings of Mary Wigton and the Duncan family. Blending fact with light fiction, it highlights faith, conscience, and compassion under fear, want, and religious conflict.

The opening of the novel follows Dundee in 1544 as the plague advances: Mary Wigton loses her father, who dies without a priest, and is taken in by the poor but upright Duncans—Jamie, Janet, Archie, and little Effie. George Wishart arrives to preach outside the city gate, offering hope and the gospel; Mary believes, while Jamie wrestles with doctrine and Janet grows uneasy yet moved. Hunger deepens, Effie dies peacefully trusting Christ, and Jamie then falls ill; Mary’s attempts to find help fail until Wishart himself visits, comforts them, and leaves a New Testament and aid, after which Jamie begins to recover. As relief comes, Mary’s long-absent brother, the now–priest John Wigton, appears, troubled by their father’s end and offering support—setting up further tensions between old loyalties and new faith.