Shortlisted for the Creative Scotland and Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust Fiction Award 2011An experimental novel on a grand scale, beautifully carried through. A Perth minister takes in a traumatised stranger who calls himself 'the son and heir to being lost'. When the stranger disappears, the events leading up to and following on from this are revealed. Shifting perspectives from a contemporary mystery to a history of Shetland and emigration, it extends the idea of Scottish empire and diaspora imaginatively, while addressing notions of being and belonging in 21st century Scotland. BACK COVER Hit wis kynda da promised land in mony wyes, da Happie Laand across da sea...In the summer of the year of the Millennium, a barefoot stranger comes to the door of the manse for help. But three days later he disappears without trace, leaving a bundle of papers behind.Da Happie Laand weaves the old minister's attempt to make sense of the mysteries left behind by his 'lost sheep' with an older story relating the fate of a Zetlandic community across the centuries - the tales of those people who emigrated to New Zetland in the South Pacific to build a new life in the promised land, and those who stayed behind. REVIEWS A work of complexity, a novel to be savoured and one that will only get better with age. NEW SHETLANDER Jamieson achieves something quite extraordinary - [he] combines a compelling modern mystery with 500 years of history in a typically experimental style that leaves many of his contemporaries lagging THE LIST Robert Alan Jamieson's strange masterpiece Da Happie Laand haunts dreams and waking hours, as it takes my adopted home of Shetland, twisting it and the archipelago's history into the most disturbing, amazing slyly funny shapes. THE SUNDAY HERALD
This collection of essays aims to open all possibilities for the restoration of St Peters Seminary, one of Scotland's most iconic modernist buildings, imagining it as a landscape within which new narratives can be woven.
This illustrated text introduces the reader to the mad-cap supporters of Scotland's national soccer team, the "Tartan Army" - a harder core, more eccentric type of travelling soccer fan - and follows the Army on their expeditions around the world during the 1990s.
A story of boyhood friendship and irrepressible vitality told with the speed of trains and the understanding of the awkwardness, significance and fragility of that time. This is a day in the life of two boys as told by one of them.
When Cal MacCarl gets a phone call to his bachelor flat in Glasgow asking him to come to the bedside of his Aunt Mary, dying miles away on the Isle of Lewis, he embarks on a journey of discovery. With both his parents dead, his Aunt Mary is his only remaining blood link. When she goes he will be the last of the family line and he couldn't care less. In the days between his aunt's death and funeral he is drawn into the role of genealogy detective. In a place where everyone knows everything about everybody, Cal finds that secrets are buried deep and begins to understand that Aunt Mary was not the woman he knew and he might not be the person he thought he was. REVIEWS: 'Where MacKay differs from most other Hebridean-based novels is in his obvious research into the geography, and meticulous background into island traditions and cultures.' THE STORNOWAY GAZETTE. 'The Hebridean scenes are powerful.' THE SUNDAY HERALD. 'There is a tightly plotted story here, together with some lovely details of remote island life.' THE INDEPENDENT' A Strong modern story of personal conflict' NORTHWORDS NOWBACK COVER: The call came from a place far away where the dark was deep and the only sound was the fading breath of a woman on the edge of eternity. The summons to the bedside of his dying aunt drags Cal MacCarl away from the blur of city life to the islands where time turns slowly and tradition endures. He is striving for the urban dream of the luxury apartment and the prestige car and has shed all of his past to get there. Aunt Mary is his only remaining blood link. She comes from the past. She still knows him as Calum. When she passes he will be the last of the family line. But for Cal, family and history are just bonds to tie him down. Reluctantly embarking on a journey of duty, Cal finds himself drawn into the role of genealogy detective and discovers secrets which are buried deep. He begins to understand that Mary was not the woman he thought he knew and the secret she kept hidden for so long means he might not be who he thought he was.
The Celtic belief that by recording a story the spirit of the story and its teller would die, has meant that generations worth of stories of have been lost. Celtic Sea Stories brings together myths and legends from the past, which the author has collected throughout his lifetime, along with others written specifically for the collection, to provide an enchanting vision of Scottish life by the sea. From kings and fairies to mermaids and witches every tale explores a different aspect of a forgotten way of life. Before schools and television storytelling was the only way to entertain, impart wisdom and explain the inexplicable. Celtic Sea Stories allows readers to share in the storytelling experience again and again, while learning about Scottish history and culture.
Scotland's ancient and fascinating history is interspersed with practical information for the Japanese visitor to the country in the only Scottish guidebook in Japanese by professional STGA guides.
A complete guide to all of the games played by Hearts in European competitions since their first appearance in 1958. With contributions from major Hearts figures from the club's glorious history.
They'll all be crow bait by the time I'm finished...Jail was hell for Davie McCall. Ten years down the line, freedom's no picnic either. It's 1990, there are new kings in the West of Scotland underworld, and Glasgow is awash with drugs. Davie can handle himself. What he can't handle is the memory of his mother's death at the hand of his sadistic father. Or the darkness his father implanted deep in his own psyche. Or the nightmares...Now his father is back in town and after blood, ready to waste anyone who stops him hacking out a piece of the action. There are people in his way. And Davie is one of them. Tense, dark and nerve-wracking... a highly effective thriller. THE HERALD This is crime fiction of the strongest quality. CRIMESQUAD.COM A gory and razor-sharp crime novel from the start, Douglas Skelton's Crow Bait moves at breakneck speed like a getaway car on the dark streets of Glasgow. THE SKINNY Skelton has been hiding from his talent for long enough. High time he shared it with the rest of us. QUINTIN JARDINE PRAISE for Blood City The city's dark underbelly complete with knives, razors, guns and gangs... DAILY MAIL You follow the plot like an eager dog, nose turning this way and that, not catching every single clue but quivering as you lunge towards a blood-splattered denouement. DAILY EXPRESS The Glasgow of this period is a great, gritty setting for a crime story, and Skelton's non-fiction work stands him in good stead... he's taken well to fiction... the unexpected twists keep coming. THE HERALD
The Davie McCall saga returns in Devil's Knock. Davie McCall has darkness inside him. A darkness that haunts him, but also helps him do despicable things to those trying to cause him and his friends harm. When Dickie Himes is killed in a club owned by the Jarvis clan, it sparks a chain of events that Davie knows can only lead to widespread gang war on the streets of mid- 90s Glasgow. The police are falling over themselves to solve the crime, but when justice is so easily bought or corrupted, Davie needs to take matters into his own hands. Davie has to contend with the ghosts of those he has failed, a persistent Hollywood actor and a scruffy dog with no name. When he finds a target on his back, will Davie be able to suppress the darkness inside him and refuse to kill... Or will the devil s knock be too tempting?
Published to mark the first centenary of Italy's entry into the Great War, Like Leaves in Autumn features 21 original Italian poems by Giuseppe Ungaretti, with new English translations by Heather Scott.
Craving an escape from everyday life, Gregor Ewing writes a personal account of his 1,000 mile walk over nine weeks with collie Meg that takes them through Northern Ireland and the central belt of Scotland, literally following in Robert the Bruce's footsteps. From Kintyre, Arran and Ardrossan north to Ayr through Glasgow to Fort William and Elgin, south to Inverurie, Aberdeen and Dundee, over the Forth to Edinburgh and Berwick upon Tweed then east through Roxburghshire to Bannockburn, Gregor frames his expedition with historical background that follows Robert the Bruce's journey to start a campaign which led to his famous victory seven years later.
This book examines the most pressing issues facing us today in the context of the political and constitutional upheaval that is coursing throughout Western democracies. The shock politics of Trump and Brexit demonstrate that the political landscape has changed and we face an uncertain future. Henry McLeish offers a new approach to get us out of the mess we're in.
A new title in the popular 'Luath Storyteller' series, Tales of Edinburgh Castle is a salute tk the ancient tradition of storytelling, painting a vivid picture of the castle in bygone times, and the rich and varied characters to whom it owes its notoriety.
Providing a recent history of the Scottish Government's Constitutional Policy since 2011, Bulmer asks what exactly is the 'common good' and what type of constitution would serve it, while also addressing questions of poverty, wealth, inequality and democracy.
We live in a time of crises in a state with no moral purpose. This generation could become great by tackling Scotlandâ¿s domestic problems, and the wider issues facing the world. That is only possible if we take charge, set the goal of equality and give ourselves twenty years to transform our society. We can lead ourselves to a better world. ALEX BELLFormer Head of Policy to First Minister Alex Salmond, Alex Bell puts Scotlandâ¿s future in a global context and sets out a way for Scotland and the UK to reform. This is a manifesto for the future free of party lines or the usual orthodoxies â¿ if you read only one book on the referendum, make it this one. The sort of original thinking that has been so sorely missing in the debate. - BEN THOMSON, Reform ScotlandBadly needed as a guide for the general reader tothe issues facing the Scottish people. - KENNETH ROY, Scottish ReviewA rare work â¿ a stimulating read that you would hope party manifestos would aspire to but rarely do. - JOHN McLAREN, Centre for Public Policy for RegionsA manifesto for the future. - ANDY WIGHTMAN, author of The Poor Had No Lawyersâ¿ an eloquent and alarmingly persuasive book. - THE SCOTSMAN, on Peak Water
Great Britain, (abbreviation: UK) England, Wales and Scotland considered as a unit. The name is also often used loosely to refer to the United Kingdom. reboot, ri-bu:t , verb to restart or revive... give fresh impetus to... federal, fed ar-al, adj. having or relating to a system of government in which several states form a unity but remain independent in internal affairs. Would federalism work in the UK? Wouldn't England dominate a British federation? How would powers be distributed between federal and home Nation level? What about the House of Lords? In the run up to the historic referendum on Scottish independence there has been a plethora of tracts, articles and books arguing for and against, but there remains a gap in the literature: the case for Scotland becoming part of a 'rebooted' federal Union. It is an old, usually Liberal, dream, but one still worth fighting for. It is often assumed that federalism is somehow 'alien' to the Scottish and British constitutional tradition but in this short book journalist David Torrance argues that not only has the UK already become a quasi-federal state but that formal federation is the best way of squaring the competing demands of Nationalists and Unionists. He also uses Scotland's place within a federal UK to examine other potential reforms with a view to tackling ever-increasing inequality across the British Isles and create a more equal, successful and constitutionally coherent country.
Navigating the confusion that still surrounds Rangers Football Club, the various contributors shed some light on the hatred and obstacles the club faced, the people who were involved in its demise and the devotion of those who saved it.
From Robert the Bruce to Alex Ferguson, find out what happens when Scotland's most famous figures overrun the present day. This new collection of poetry from acclaimed Scots writer Mark Thomson looks at the effect our famous ancestors have had on us, and what they would think of Scotland today.
Scottish Family Legends is a treasure trove of true tales written by people from all over Scotland.
Katherine Stewart examines the ways of life of Highland women through the spoken, sung and written histories they have left behind.
A collection of dramatic scripts by John Cairney interpreting the life and works of Robert Burns, this personal exploration of Burns' life and work builds a fuller picture of one of Scotland's most important cultural icons.
McLellan's collected works brings together previously unpublished plays like Jeddart Justice with acknowledged classics such as Jamie the Saxt and a selection of his poems.
Fatigued by bloated big-game football and bored of a samey big cities, Daniel Gray went in search of small town Scotland and its teams. Part travelogue, part history and part mistakenly spilling ketchup on the face of a small child, Stramash takes an uplifting look at the country's nether regions.
James Macpherson's translations of the poetry of Ossian, a third-century Highland Bard, were an instant success. But were the poems part of a great Gaelic oral tradition, or the work of Macpherson's imagination?
An insight into the early life and inspirations of one of Britain's best-loved writers, this book looks to Potter's own journal to reveal the influence of the Perthshire countryside and Sir Walter Scott on her writing.
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