Reviews
Stirling’s picture past is a joy to behold
One of the joys of visiting cities and towns around Scotland is seeing how much they have changed over the years. I’ve always had an interest in finding pictures of places as they used to be, and then comparing with them in the 21st century, to see how things have evolved and changed. Stirling –…
Read MoreThe amazing real life story of the Shetland ‘Bus’
Sometimes, real life events are so incredible that you’d think they were an elaborate plot from a spy novel. The Shetland ‘Bus’ tells the tale of the clandestine Special Operations Executive plan which from 1942 transported secret agents across the North Sea between Shetland and Norway during World War Two. With Norway under Nazi occupation,…
Read MoreMcCall Smith’s latest novel brings joy and light
There really is no stopping Alexander McCall Smith, with the release of his latest novel, The Joy and Light Bus Company. This is the 22nd installment in the internationally beloved No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series is equally as brilliant as the previous editions. Mma Ramotswe is wary of her husband’s potential business venture and is…
Read MoreA fascinating look at the time of Mary, Queen of Scots
The Survival of the Crown is hefty tome that is definitely one for the history scholar, rather than the casual reader. This is volume two, and the concluding part of Stedall’s heavily researched history of Mary, Queen of Scots, offering a detailed contribution to our understanding of this most significant period in the history of…
Read MoreThe fascinating rise of a Scots statesman
The eventful life and career of Sir John Malcolm, a distinguished combatant, statesman and man of letters who spent most of his life in India, has been a story little told in his native Scotland. An ambitious and bold man who left his impoverished beginnings as one of 17 children of a tenant farmer in…
Read MoreA fascinating look at the world in 100 moments
You are not alone in wondering how one goes about filtering through a million years to form an articulate narrative. Yet Neil Oliver achieves this incredibly succinctly and with rare wit. Travelling through space and time on a whistlestop tour of the world, Oliver offers a tangible array of moments which give an invaluable and…
Read MoreScottish history brought to life by Denise Mina
A tale of Scottish Tudor history told through a modern perspective, the multi-award-winning author captures our imaginations once more. Reviving the rule of Mary, Queen of Scots and her husband’s plot to murder her private secretary David Rizzio while she watches, this is a masterful reflection on one of Scottish history’s darkest periods. Quick paced…
Read MoreA family’s history captured on film since 1840
The Lindsays of Balcarres spans a century of photographs from an ancient Scottish family. The book began with the rediscovery of some old dusty photograph albums one wet afternoon at the home of the author’s late father in Fife. The photographs, which begin at the birth of photography in the 1840s, unravel a family narrative…
Read MoreA fascinating look at deer – in real life, myths and art
The Celts called them ‘fairy cattle’ and the Greeks associated them with the hunter goddess Artemis, but for most people today, deer are seen as cute, like Bambi, or noble, like the Monarch of the Glen. Deer appear in religion and mythology, on coats of arms, in fine art, and in literature ranging from The…
Read MoreA mystery from Alexander McCall Smith
Esteemed writer Alexander McCall Smith brings us a new and exciting enigma. Set in the unusual location of Ceylon just before WWII, it follows the story of a ‘pavilion in the clouds’ – the place where a confrontation between suspicious governess Miss White, and protagonist Bella’s parents leads to a gunshot being fired. Years later,…
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