The Accidental Heretic
Jo O’Neill
Type: ARC
Genre: Historical fiction
Word count: 100,000
Warnings: Graphic violence, swearing
Based on a real-life trial transcript from 1756, a soldier devises a clever ruse to uncover a thief and finds himself on trial for his life. At a time when Enlightenment ideals were sweeping Europe, and the Spanish Inquisition was struggling for relevance, The Accidental Heretic is a story of human endurance, love, and corruption at the heart of power.
What’s this?
Inspired by a 1756 Spanish Inquisition Trial.
Antonio arrives in Spain on a mission to recover a family debt. But he’s naïve to the politics of the country, and to what might happen if he offends the wrong people. No surprise, then, that he fails in his mission and loses everything.
Out of options, the self-named Lord of Lost Causes enlists. He’s popular, clever and soon wins the respect of his comrades. When his commanding officer asks him to help uncover a thief, he devises an elegant ruse. Too elegant. The thief is dealt with leniently, but disaster follows for Antonio when he’s reported to the Spanish Inquisition and falls into the hands of a powerful adversary.
Set against the backdrop of 18th-century Europe, when Enlightenment ideals based on reason and equality were sweeping the continent, the story is a tale of human endurance, love, and a fight to save a man from becoming another victim of a regime that fears progress more than injustice.
Until 2023 I was a senior executive leading construction teams in South Africa, Norway, The Netherlands and Aberdeen. I left industry to focus on writing full time. My fascination with writing history began fifteen years ago when I happened upon the trial transcript that inspired The Accidental Heretic. I have previously published a contemporary psychological thriller: More Than Us, and completed another novel: The Peat Cutter’s Wife, which placed in the top fifty for the New2TheScene 2025 Summer Novel Prize. I live in Hampshire with my husband, who is a professional artist.
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