Donald Smith's third historical novel investigates where Mary Queen of Scots' history ends and legend begins through the captivating use of contemporary prose ballad. Smith seeks a truthful narrative about not only Mary Carmichael but also Seton, Beaton, Livingston and Fleming by integrating firsthand accounts and dramatic testimony. It marks 500 years since Flodden and the Birth of John Knox.
A cold sweat had spread over Mary as she listened. What she was hearing was sounding ever more like a premonition: adultery was nearly as bad as murder. Shetland, 1773: a land of hand-to-mouth living and tight community ties overshadowed by the ever-watchful eye of the kirk, an institution 'run by auld men, for auld men'. In this fictionalised retelling of historical events, young Waas lass Mary Johnsdaughter stands accused of having sinned in the eyes of the church after the Batchelor, a ship bursting with emigrants seeking new lives in North Carolina, is left stranded upon Shetland's shores. Will she survive the humiliation? Will she become an outcast? Will one moment cost her everything? A tale of Shetland folk knit out of Shetlandic voices and real parish records, The Trials of Mary Johnsdaughter pits the bonds of friends and family against the grip of the kirk. Only one thing is clear: then as now, 'Hit's no aesy livin in a peerie place.'
If a sister asks a sister's life on her bended knees, they will pardon her; and they will win a thousand hearts by it. Edinburgh, 1736: Captain John Porteous is charged with murder and locked up in Edinburgh's Tolbooth prison, also known as the Heart of Midlothian. When news comes that he has been pardoned, a baying mob breaks into the jail, liberating its inmates and bringing Porteous to their own form of justice. But one prisoner, Effie Deans, chooses not to take the opportunity to flee. Wrongly convicted of murder, Effie has been sentenced to death. Jeanie, her older sister, sets about walking to London to beg for her pardon from the queen. A gripping tale of religious piety and filial devotion, this new edition of The Heart of Midlothian has been expertly reworked for modern readers by David Purdie.
Commissioned especially for Scotland's Year of Stories, Storm and Shore connects the west coast of Scotland's rich mythological past with the present day. When artist Lucy Salter comes to a remote Argyll coastline she aims to connect with nature in its wild state. Aid worker Dave McArthur is fleeing traumatic conflict. But they have both ventured into a borderland, layered by history, migration and repressed violence. It is a liminal place, storied by centuries of settlement and travel. Yet local tradition bearers, bard and seannachaidh, can channel the past. From these hauntings, a storytelling tapestry is woven from the sea, nature myth and weather. The long roots of our global crisis are laid bare in landfalls, wherein the crucible of Gaelic tradition, creatures of the sea meet the shore.
An exploration of the Scottish Borders, Tweed Dales covers six journeys spanning from the Eildon Hills to Tweeddale, Kelso to Gala Water, Ettrick to Teviotdale. The long history of the Borders and their unique culture is evoked through key personalities, events, stories and folklore. Both accomplished storytellers, Donald and Elspeth spin the magic of the stories of Borders history with passion and vitality.
These stories are about the wee folk of Scotland, told afresh for everyone including, today's wee people. Collected here are stories from all over Scotland. Many were first published in the nineteenth and twentieth century, but all have been influenced by being told and retold, shaped and reshaped as they pass from storyteller to storyteller. Whether you're introducing a wee bairn to these stories for the first time or you're not-so-wee and reading them to yourself, you'll find plenty to love in these charming Scots folk tales.
It seemed like a dream to Waverley that these deeds of violence should be familiar to men's minds and currently talked of as happening daily in the immediate neighbourhood, without his having crossed the seas. Scotland, 1745: Edward Waverley is a naïve English soldier drawn into the heart of the Jacobite rebellion. Charmed by clan leader Fergus MacIvor and his sister Flora, he allies himself with the Jacobite cause - a bold and dangerous move. He finds himself caught between two women - feisty Flora and demure Rose - proving that love can be just as powerful as politics. First published in 1814, Waverley is widely regarded as the first historical novel in the western tradition. This new edition celebrates the 200th anniversary of its publication, and has been expertly reworked for modern readers by Jenni Calder. Walter Scott has no business to write novels, especially good ones. It is not fair. He has Fame and Profit enough as a Poet, and should not be taking the bread out of other people's mouths. I do not like him, and do not mean to like Waverley if I can help it - but fear I must. JANE AUSTEN The best book by Sir Walter Scott. GOETHE One of the things I have always admired about him is that he goes for the big picture. He deals with society at moments of big change and looks at how those moments of historical change affect individual people. JAMES ROBERTSON
Alba, am Foghar 1513. An dèidh dha taibhse fhaicinn ann an Glinn Iucha, tha Rìgh Seumas a Ceithir dealasach gu falbh air taistealachd a Bhaile Dhubhthaich mus dèan e ionnsaigh air Sasainn. Na chuideachd, bidh Mgr Eanraig Leich, an lannsair pearsanta aige, agus an t-amadan as fheàrr leis, Tòmas. Bidh càirdeas a' sìor fhàs eadar an triùir fhear fhad 's a tha iad air chuairt a Bhaile Dhubhthaich agus, an uair sin, a' marcachd a Northumberland fada gu deas. Ach bidh teagamhan agus droch mhanaidhean gam buaireadh mus tig latha mòr a' chatha air Blàr Flodden. Scotland, Autumn 1513. After seeing an apparition in Linlithgow, King James the Fourth is determined to go on pilgrimage to St Duthac's Church in Tain before he makes an attack on England. In his company are Master Henry Leich, his personal surgeon, and his favourite jester, Thomas. Friendship deepens between the three men as they travel north to Tain and then ride to Northumberland, far to the south. But doubts and ill omens will test their resolve before the great day of battle comes on Flodden field.
Celebrating its 900th year, Edinburgh is an unrivalled theatre of story. In this commemorative book, Donald Smith unravels the city's storytelling evolution across the centuries, illustrated with vivid detail by Cat Outram. How did Edinburgh get its name? What gives the city its unique character? Why do nation and planet come together here? How did Edinburgh become the city of literature, and a Festival city? Which books have made the most impact? Through its nine official centuries Edinburgh has thrived on books, words and ideas. Everyone who loves Edinburgh will love Donald Smith's exploration of this storied town, as will anyone interested in how place shapes people and people, place.
Dà Shamhradh ann an Raineach is a historical novel written in Scottish Gaelic. It is set in 18th century Edinburgh and rural Perthshire, 20 years after the Battle of Culloden, a time of rapid social change and development in areas such as medicine, printing, the Church, the Gaelic language and agriculture. The novel is based on the facts that are known of the life of Dugald Buchanan, the poet and schoolteacher who made a major contribution to the first translation of the New Testament into Gaelic from the original Greek. He oversaw the printing of the New Testament in Edinburgh in 1767, the same year in which his own book of Spiritual Songs was published. These poems were to become enormously influential throughout the Gaelic speaking world. The greater part of the novel describes the last two years of his life and is narrated by his wife, Margaret. She outlived him by over 40 years and was in a position to look back over the tragic events which had struck the Buchanan family. As a result, the story ultimately becomes her own as much as that of Dugald.
