Ian Rankin donates archives to National Library of Scotland

The UK’s biggest-selling crime novelist Ian Rankin has donated his literary archive to the National Library of Scotland.

Often cited as the ‘godfather of tartan noir’, Ian Rankin’s work has resonated with millions throughout the world, his novels having been translated into 36 languages.

Totally around 50 boxes of material, which in shelving terms is more than 21 feet, the archive includes typescripts of manuscripts with handwritten annotations and notes by the author.

Also included is correspondence with literary figures such as J.K. Rowling, Iain Banks, Ruth Rendell, Val McDermid and Jilly Cooper.

Ian Rankin’s annotations can be seen on his archived manuscripts.

Described by Rankin as ‘a pretty complete author’s life, late-20^th century-style’, the archive material dates from 1972-2018.

Ian Rankin said: ‘I remember that in my first week as a postgraduate student we were given a tour of the National Library of Scotland, including access to the basement levels. Those vaulted underground corridors would reappear in the climactic scenes of my first Rebus novel.

‘The Library has seemed like a friend ever since, so it seems fitting – as well as a thrill and an honour – that my archive should find a permanent home there.’

The National Library also announced that it will recruit a curator to catalogue and promote the Ian Rankin archive.

Find out more on their website.