The Extraordinary Life of Maggie Dickson: From Tragedy to Triumph in Scotland’s Haunting Tale

As a result of concealing her pregnancy, a young woman was sentenced to death in 1724

It is on a bustling street in Edinburgh, Scotland, that a cozy pub named Maggie Dickson’s can be found, where patrons can enjoy traditional Scottish delicacies while listening to live music while enjoying a drink or two.

The name of the pub pays homage to a real woman who was the subject of one of Scotland’s most notorious crime stories, a story that is unknown to the majority of people.

The expectations of women in the 1700s were for them to be submissive, quiet, and chaste. Maggie was none of these things.

A woman of the 18th century, Margaret “Maggie” Dickson was born in Musselburgh, Scotland, in the early 1700s. At a time when women were expected to marry young, submit to their husbands, and bear children, Maggie Dickson could think of no worse fate for a woman.

As a child, she had seen how miserable her own parents’ marriage had been. Her father was an abusive, alcoholic philanderer, and her mother had resigned herself to playing the long-suffering role of her…