Books
Book review – The A-Z of Edinburgh
Part of Amberley’s A-Z series, A-Z of Edinburgh offers a well-rounded look into Scotland’s capital through succinct, informative pieces on its monuments, various locations, and remarkable people. Lisa Sibbald’s alphabetical selection, with Sean Connery, Dolly the Sheep, and Arthur Conan Doyle next to one another, makes for an interesting read. A treat for anyone looking to…
Read MoreBook review – 1824: The World’s First Football Club
Queen’s Park Football Club are acknowledged as Scotland’s oldest football club, having been founded in 1867. But Hampden Park’s finest weren’t the first team in the land. The Foot-Ball Club which was formed in Edinburgh in 1824, the world’s first known organisation dedicated to football. It was founded by John Hope, a student lawyer, and…
Read MoreCongratulations – Songwriter to the Stars
In this engrossing autobiography, Bill Martin, one of the most successful and prolific songwriters of the last few decades, tells not only the story of his Glasgow upbringing, but also some fascinating anecdotes from his long career in the music industry. Bill wrote several number one hits in the 1960s and 70s and received numerous recognitions…
Read MoreBook review – The 21 Escapes of Lt Alastair Cram
David M Guss has written the barely believable story of Alastair Cram, a Scottish prisoner of war who attempted a record 21 prison escapes during the Second World War. And it is as gripping as it is inspiring. Described by his widow Isobel as a private and reserved man, Cram wrote about his experiences in…
Read MoreBook review – The Quiet Side of Passion
The Quiet Side of Passion is the 12th volume of the Isabel Dalhousie series. In this tale, Isabel meets Patricia, the single mother of her son’s friend Basil. She hears that the child is allegedly the son of a well-known Edinburgh organist, Basil Phelps – and the product of an aff air – and decides to…
Read MoreThree authors in the running for the Kelpies Prize
A haunted lighthouse, a lost wizard and Bonnie Prince Charlie all feature in this year’s prize for new Scottish fiction for children. They are all in contention after the Kelpies Prize 2018 Shortlist was revealed. Independent Edinburgh publisher Floris Books recently announced the shortlist. The Kelpies Prize, which is now being awarded for the 13th time,…
Read MoreKing Henry’s Sister Margaret: Scotland’s Tudor Queen
In King Henry’s Sister Margaret: Scotland’s Tudor Queen, a biography of Margaret Tudor, Mary McGrigor breathes new life into the story of one of the most important female figures of the period following the War of the Roses. Born in 1489, daughter of the recently-crowned Henry VII, Margaret would go on to marry James IV,…
Read MoreThe Restless Wave: My Two Lives With John Bellany
Helen Bellany, twice married to the late John Bellany, is beautifully candid about her life with the renowned Scottish artist in The Restless Wave: My Two Lives With John Bellany. Having fallen in love at Edinburgh College of Art, the couple had three children together, but endured a tumultuous marriage which saw divorce, despair and…
Read MoreThe Artie Conan Doyle Mysteries: The Vanishing Dragon
Sherlock Holmes has undergone something of a revival over recent times. In addition to two popular films starring Robert Downey Junior as the Great Detective, two modern day Sherlock Holmes series have been created, Sherlock in the UK with Benedict Cumberbatch, and Elementary in the USA, with Johnny Lee Miller. It should therefore come as…
Read MoreA Painter’s Scotland: Favourite Places, Favourite Paintings
A full-time painter for almost two decades, Charles Simpson’s native pull is expressed in his artwork and candid writing, which comes to the fore in A Painter’s Scotland: Favourite Places, Favourite Paintings. Based in the Borders, he never lost his childhood enthusiasm for art and muses over the North West of Scotland, depicting the tranquil landscape…
Read More