Books
Spooks and scares from all over Scotland
It’s perhaps not surprising that a country with a history as long and often bloody as Scotland’s, is home to a raft of myths and legends centred around things that go bump in the night. This collection of spooky tales gathered by Alistair Kerr focuses on the vivid imaginations of some of the country’s best…
Read MoreBake Off winner Peter’s cookbook comes up a treat
The Great British Bake Off is a seemingly unstoppable phenomenon. There’s something intrinsically British in its appeal and the good cop, bad cop judging formula that was Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood seems to have transitioned nicely with the programme’s change to Channel Four and with Prue Leith’s slightly less good cop taking the reins.…
Read MoreScots playwright Rona Munro adapts her TV script
One of Scotland’s most acclaimed playwrights has been brought to book. The multiple award-winning Rona Munro has written numerous productions for stage, including Dirt Under The Carpet, Bold Girls, and Frankenstein. Some of her most famous stage work is the history cycle The James Plays, James I, James II, and James III, which were first…
Read MoreA gripping thriller from author Craig Robertson
Loneliness is a killer and it’s Grace McGill’s job to clean up the mess when a dead body has lain undiscovered for weeks or even months. This fascinating thriller had me hooked from the first chapter. Robertson is well-kent for his crime writing, so it’s little wonder that the vivid descriptions of the scenes of…
Read MoreThe perfect companion for munro baggers
Following on from his 1995 book The Munro Phenomenon, Andrew Dempster has written this updated tale of the mountains for a new generation of baggers. In doing so he brings to light the latest achievements in climbing them all and looks back to discover a little-known man who was a key player in the creation…
Read MoreA memoir of a life spent fishing on the River Tweed
An evocative account of one man’s life spent fishing on the Tweed is being released this spring, a story of family, tradition, conservation and the Scottish countryside. Andrew Douglas-Home’s memoir recounts a lifetime’s fishing, from Connemara on the Irish West coast to the Test in Hampshire, from the Don in Aberdeenshire to the Wye, but…
Read MoreScotland in a post-viral apocalyptic future
In a dystopian UK ravaged by a virus, Scotland has closed its border. The Ardnamurchan peninsula is surrounded by a fence that protects the rest of the country from the wolves and bears that roam the mountains and woods of this rewilded big-game hunting estate. DI Rhona Ballantyne returns to her Scottish roots to investigate…
Read MoreRoyal cousins and rival queens put in focus
Elizabeth and Mary: Royal Cousins, Rival Queens is a beautifully edited and printed historical tome was published by the British Library to support an exhibition of the same name. This exhibition will run until February this year – the first to put Queen Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots centre stage. These powerful women…
Read MoreThe secret lives of plants in our society
We don’t often consider the impact that plants have had on human history, but this book shows how they have been woven into society for centuries. From medicine, through nutrition to murder and construction, there’s a story to be told for all living and growing things. I particularly enjoyed the tale of how the Scottish…
Read MoreWhen composer Mendelssohn came to Scotland
As was the wont of wealthy young gentlemen of the time, the composer Felix Mendelssohn went on a grand journey. This book has a subtitle of The Mendelssohns in Scotland and Italy, and tells how Felix’s journey brought him to Scotland, while his sister Fanny alighted in Italy. Using sketches, letters, paintings and captivating narrative…
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