Birlinn and Polygon Spring Catalogue 2012 by Birlinn Limited

Birlinn and Polygon Spring Titles 2012

Contacts

Address Birlinn Ltd West Newington House 10 Newington Road Edinburgh EH9 1QS Tel: +44 (0) 131 668 4371 Fax: +44 (0) 131 668 4466 info@birlinn.co.uk Customer and Trade Orders Booksource 50 Cambuslang Road Cambuslang Investment Park Glasgow G32 8NB Tel: 0245 370 0067 Fax: 0845 370 0068 Intl: +44 (0) 141 643 3961

Managing Director Hugh Andrew hugh@birlinn.co.uk

Birlinn Limited was established in 1992, by Managing Director Hugh Andrew, and is comprised of a number of imprints.

Publishing Director Neville Moir neville@birlinn.co.uk

Birlinn publishes Scottish interest books, from biography to history, military history, sport and Scottish Gaelic. The name comes from the old Norse word ‘birlinn’, meaning a long boat or small galley used especially in the Hebrides and West Highlands of Scotland in the Middle Ages.

Publicity and Marketing Director Jan Rutherford jan.ppw@blueyonder.co.uk Rights Director Maria White maria@birlinn.co.uk Mobile: +44 7766657558 Sales Director Laura Poynton laura@birlinn.co.uk

Polygon publishes literary fiction and poetry, both classic and modern, from Scottish writers such as Robin Jenkins, George Mackay Brown and the author of the No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, Alexander McCall Smith, as well as selected music and film titles. Polygon was originally set up by students of Edinburgh University in the late 1960s. Mercat Press, founded in 1970 and acquired by Birlinn in 2007, is now an imprint publishing walking and climbing guides. Mercat is the Scots language word for ‘market’ or ‘trade’.

Creative Director James Hutcheson jim@birlinn.co.uk Editorial Manager (Birlinn) Andrew Simmons andrew@birlinn.co.uk

Academic books about Scotland are published under the imprint John Donald.

Managing Editor (Polygon) Alison Rae alison@birlinn.co.uk Academic Editor ( John Donald) Mairi Sutherland mairi@birlinn.co.uk Export Manager, Digital Development Manager, Sports Editor Peter Burns peter@birlinn.co.uk Mobile: +44 7967076636 Production Manager Liz Short liz@birlinn.co.uk Sales and Marketing Liaison Vikki Reilly vikkir@birlinn.co.uk Events Manager Kenny Redpath kenny@birlinn.co.uk

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2012 Weighted version for small sizes (see examples above) Spaced more than 'original' version.

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Alexander McCall Smith

978 1 84697 219 5 2nd February 2012 185 x 125mm pbk 96pp Children’s Fiction (6+) £6.99 Rights: UK and Commonwealth excluding Canada eISBN: 978 0 85790 068 5

Alexander McCall Smith is one of the world’s most prolific and most popular authors. For many years he was a professor of Medical Law, then, after the publication of his highly successful No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series, which has sold over 25 million copies, he devoted his time to the writing of fiction and has seen his various series of books translated into over forty-six languages and become bestsellers throughout the world. These include the 44 Scotland Street novels, first published as a serial novel in The Scotsman, the Isabel Dalhousie novels, the Von Igelfeld series and the Corduroy Mansions novels.

precious AND THE MONKEYS

Precious Ramotswe’s Very First Case Well before Precious Ramotswe founded her No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, as a seven-year-old girl she was already solving mysteries. Here, in this delightful, enchanting tale for children, we find out just who has been stealing her schoolfriends’ snacks and how the young Precious became the crafty and intuitive private investigator we all know and love!

‘Exquisitely illustrated by Iain McIntosh, its wise, kindly, conversational tone is no different from other McCall Smith novels, addressing all readers as friends and equals’ – the times

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Sara Sheridan 978 1 84697 228 7 5th July 2012 B pbk 256pp Crime Fiction £7.99 Rights: WEL

978 1 84697 233 1 5th April 2012 C hbk 256pp Crime Fiction £15.99 Rights: WEL

Brighton belle

A MIRABELLE BEVAN MYSTERY 1951. Brighton. With the war over and the Nazis brought to justice at Nuremberg, Mirabelle Bevan (Secret Service, retired) thinks her skills are no longer required. After her lover’s death she retires to the seaside to put the past behind her and takes a job at a debt collection agency run by the charismatic Big Ben McGuigan. But when the case of Romana Laszlo – a pregnant Hungarian refugee – comes in, Mirabelle soon discovers that her specialist knowledge is vital. With enthusiastic assistance from insurance clerk Vesta Churchill, they follow a mysterious trail of gold sovereigns and corpses that only they can unravel. Praise for Sara Sheridan: ‘A truly sumptuous, action-packed Oriental adventure that might just be our favourite historical romance of the year’ – daily record on The Secret Mandarin

Sara Sheridan writes fiction for adults and children. Previous recent novels include The Secret Mandarin (2009) and Secret of the Sands (2011), both HarperCollins. She studied English Literature at Trinity College, Dublin. Sara sits on the committee of the Society of Authors in Scotland and is Project Manager for the 26 Treasures Project in Scotland 2011. Sara has her own website and is very active on Facebook and Twitter: www.sarasheridan.co.uk. She lives in Edinburgh with her family.

‘An enchanting story that draws you in . . . perfect for whiling away the hours on a rainy day’ – closer on The Secret Mandarin

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Barry Fantoni

978 1 84697 227 0 7th June 2012 Demy hbk 208pp Fiction £12.99 Rights: UK & Commonwealth eISBN: 978 0 85790 187 3

Barry Fantoni has had a long and illustrious career in the arts – from writing scripts for That Was The Week That Was and presenting BBC series A Whole Scene Going (for which he won TV Personality of the Year) to writing and drawing cartoons for Private Eye and The Listener, and being an art critic for The Times. He attended the Slade School of Fine Art and was a key figure in the 1960s pop art movement. Barry now lives in France where he plays jazz, writes plays and poetry, and plans to write two volumes of memoirs.

Harry Lipkin, p.i.

the oldest detective in the world He might not be the fastest P.I. in Miami, but octogenarian Harry Lipkin is definitely the oldest. His specialty is taking on the cases the police just aren’t interested in – and his latest case is a doozy. Someone on the staff of wealthy widow Norma Weinberger is stealing from her. Nothing fancy, no diamond-encrusted teapots or anything, but enough to rattle her. Harry takes on the case, navigating his way – gingerly – through a twilight world of boxing, gambling and gangs to find the truth. Elegantly written and illustrated throughout, Harry Lipkin, P.I. is a life-affirming tale of ageing and mortality as well as a laugh-out-loud whodunit. The fact that the guy keeps his gun next to his false teeth should tell you a lot An intoxicating blend of Woody Allen, Raymond Chandler and Larry David, this book is perfect for Father’s Day and fans of Private Eye. ‘Wisecracking and wise, humorous and humane – this is a great new tale with an original twist’ – Ian Hislop

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Stuart Clark Also available

The Sky’s Dark Labyrinth 978 1 84697 215 7 pbk £8.99 (eBook also available)

978 1 84697 187 7 2nd February 2012 Demy hbk 288pp Historical Fiction £12.99 Rights: World, excluding Japan, Korea, Greece and Canada eISBN: 978 0 85790 079 1

The Sensorium of God

The Sky’s Dark Labyrinth Trilogy: Book II Sex, lies and spies – science and religion clash in this gripping fictionalisation of the lives of Newton, Halley and Hooke. It’s the mid-seventeenth century. No one understands why the planets move as Johannes Kepler so elegantly described almost a century earlier. Edmond Halley, adventurer, astronomer and ladies’ man, asks the reclusive alchemist and fearsome mathematician Isaac Newton for help with solving the problem. From this simple act the lives of both men are plunged into crisis, Europe is pushed headlong towards the Age of the Enlightenment and science is catapulted into a seismic clash with religion.

Stuart Clark is a former editor of the UK’s bestselling popular astronomy magazine Astronomy Now and a visiting fellow of the University of Hertfordshire. His book The Sun Kings (Princeton University Press, 2007), established him as a popular science writer par excellence. He is Astronomy Consultant for the New Scientist. www.stuartclark.com

Praise for The Sky’s Dark Labyrinth: Book I: ‘Moving and eye-opening story of brilliance and bravery’ – daily mail ‘If Kepler wasn’t already your favourite historical astronomer, he will be after reading this book ’ – new scientist **** Book of the Month, bbc Sky at Night

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Jake Simons Also available

978 1 84697 226 3 1st March 2012 Royal pbk 336pp Fiction / T hriller £12.99 Rights: WEL excluding USA/Philippines eISBN: 978 0 85790 170 5

Jake Simons is a novelist, journalist and graphic artist. His acclaimed first novel, The Exiled Times of a Tibetan Jew, was named by the Independent on Sunday as a Book of the Year. Jake writes features for The Times, the Guardian, the Independent on Sunday, the Telegraph, La Repubblica and other publications, and he is a contributor to BBC Radio 4’s From Our Own Correspondent. Born in London in 1978, he is a fellow of The Royal Society of Arts, and Practitioner-inResidence at Bournemouth University. He lives with his family in Winchester. www.jakewallissimons.com

The English German Girl 978 1 84697 208 9 pbk £8.99 (eBook also available)

The Pure Disaffected ex-Mossad agent Uzi works as a security guard and low-level drug dealer in London. He gets the chance to expose the ruthlessness of his former employers by giving the details of a topsecret assassination operation to WikiLeaks – a story so damaging to the Israeli government that an opposition party is prepared to pay to ensure WikiLeaks gets the scoop. But once it’s out there, Uzi will be a marked man … Praise for the Jake Simons’ The English German Girl: ‘Fascinating and moving’ – Monica Ali ‘Absolutely compelling’ – Sarah Crown, the guardian ‘Well-researched and very moving’ – the times ‘Rings with such authenticity … his research is formidable’ – the melbourne age

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Shirley McKay Also available

Hue & Cry 978 1 84697 152 5 B pbk £8.99 (eBook also available)

Fate & Fortune 978 1 84697 180 8 B pbk £8.99 (eBook also available)

978 1 84697 218 8 5th April 2012 B pbk 320pp Historical Fiction £8.99 Rights: WEL eISBN: 978 0 85790 043 2

Time & Tide

A Hew Cullan Mystery 1582, St Andrews. In the swell of a storm, a battered ship is wrecked in St Andrews harbour. Aboard is a young Flemish sailor – the only survivor. The cargo of the ship appears a welcome windfall but it soon brings devastation to the town as petty squabbling turns to hysteria and tragedy. Hew traces the ship to its source in Ghent, where he uncovers a strange secret. Unwilling to allow the law to take its course, he returns once more to the role of advocate and finds his deepest principles being tested to the core. Praise for Shirley McKay: ‘An intelligent and entertaining novelist who deserves to be better known. TV producers take note: these books, with their vividly realised settings, just beg to be dramatised’- scots magazine ‘Intoxicating mix of dramatic crime and repressed passion’ – new books

Shirley McKay was born in Tynemouth but now lives with her family in Fife. At the age of fifteen she won the Young Observer playwriting competition. She went on to study English and Linguistics at the University of St Andrews before attending Durham University for postgraduate study in romantic and seventeenth-century prose. The first Hew Cullan mystery, Hue & Cry was shortlisted for the CWA Debut Dagger. Shirley works as a freelance proofreader.

‘A gripping mystery that holds the reader to the very last page’ – John Burnside

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Tom Pow

978 1 84697 195 2 7th June 2012 220 x 150mm pbk 256pp 32 b/w Travel Writing £12.00 Rights: UK and Commonwealth excluding Canada

in another world

Tom Pow was born in Edinburgh in 1950. He has won many awards for his writing, and is also an accredited storyteller. He is an Honorary Senior Research Fellow at Glasgow University in Dumfries and teaches on the distance learning masters in Creative Writing for Lancaster University. www.tompow.co.uk

Among Europe’s Dying Villages In one of the great defining moments in human history, more people now live in cities than in rural areas, and the effects of this depopulation and the plummeting birthrate are being felt keenly throughout Europe, which has the fastest-declining population in the world. Tom Pow sets out to explore what this means in some of the most rapidly vanishing areas of Europe. From Spain to Russia, he uses the tools of his trade – travelogue, essay, story and poem – to make connections, not only with what he encounters in numerous dying villages, but to reflect on his own experiences of memory, identity and loss. In Another World is an open book: not an argument, but an invitation to remember, to reflect and to engage with one of the most significant social issues affecting Europe today. Praise for Tom Pow: ‘Masterly, a marvellous chronicle of thirty years of work . . . by one of the most fluent poets to grace Scotland’s bookshelves’ – the scotsman on In the Becoming

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Gillian Galbraith Also available

Blood in the Water 978 1 84183 112 1 pbk £7.99 (eBook also available)

Where the Shadow Falls 978 1 84697 106 8 pbk £7.99 (eBook also available)

Dying of the Light 978 1 84697 143 3 pbk £7.99 (eBook also available)

No Sorrow to Die 978 1 84697 175 4 pbk £7.99 (eBook also available)

978 1 84697 225 6 5th April 2012 Demy hbk 224pp Crime Fiction £12.99 Rights: WEL eISBN: 978 0 85790 176 7

the road to hell An Alice Rice Mystery

When the body of a half-clothed woman is discovered in an Edinburgh park, a murder investigation is launched. The victim has not been reported missing and there are few clues to her identity. Soon after, the naked corpse of a prominent clergyman is found, also in a park. DS Alice Rice wonders if the same killer is at work, and if so, what is the connection between the apparently motiveless attacks? The Road to Hell, the fifth in the Alice Rice series, takes the policewoman to new personal depths and along a trail that leads to some of Edinburgh’s darkest and scariest corners. Praise for Gillian Galbraith: ‘Highly readable’ – Alexander McCall Smith ‘Avenger of evil, DS Alice Rice, has come of age’ – scottish field ‘[Galbraith] offers a much needed female perspective on the city and the genre’ – scottish field

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Gillian Galbraith grew up near Haddington. For seventeen years, she was an advocate specialising in medical negligence and agricultural law cases. Before qualifying in law she worked for a time as an agony aunt in magazines for teenagers. Since then, she has been the legal correspondent for the Scottish Farmer and has written law reports for The Times. She lives near Kinross with her husband and daughter, plus assorted cats, dogs, hens and bees.

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Aonghas MacNeacail Also available

Hymn to a Young Demon 978 1 84697 002 3 pbk £9.99

978 1 84697 230 0 7th June 2012 pbk 192pp Poetry £14.99 Rights: WEL

Aonghas MacNeacail was born in Uig on Skye in 1942. He is a poet and songwriter, journalist, researcher, broadcaster, scriptwriter and filmmaker. He has published collections of poems in both Gaelic and English, and his writing has appeared in literary journals in Scotland and worldwide. He has had poetry broadcast on radio and television, has given readings throughout Scotland and has toured and published extensively abroad. He was winner of the 2006 Gaelic Prize of the Wigtown Poetry Competition for his poem ‘An fhìor bheinn’, and in 2007 was among the prize-winners of the major Ireland-based Strokestown International Poetry Competition.

LAUGHING AT THE CLOCK NEW & SELECTED POEMS

DÈANAMH GÀIRE RIS A’ CHLOC DAIN UR AGUS TAGHT

Widely regarded as the foremost poet writing today in the Gaelic language, MacNeacail casts his eye on love, aging, memory, language, politics and landscape in this masterful bilingual collection. Demonstrating MacNeacail’s usual tight mastery of form and beautifully controlled rhythm, this collection, published to mark the poet’s seventieth birthday, is a celebration of the best of contemporary Scottish poetry. Praise for Aonghas MacNeacail ‘As visionary, melodious and important as Neruda’ – Kevin MacNeil ‘As striking as his politics is the sensuousness of the language’ – Meg Bateman ‘A poetry collection with the richness and subtlety of a good malt’ – the herald on Hymn to a Young Demon

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Ken McClure Also available

Donor 978 1 84697 162 4 pbk £7.99 (eBook also available)

Wildcard 978 1 84697 163 1 pbk £7.99 (eBook also available)

White Death 978 1 84697 148 8 pbk £7.99 (eBook also available)

Dust to Dust 978 1 84697 181 5 pbk £7.99 (eBook also available)

978 1 84697 213 3 7th June 2012 B pbk 256pp Thriller/Fiction £7.99 Rights: World eISBN: 978 0 85790 030 2

Lost Causes

A Dr Steven Dunbar Thriller

Ex-Special Forces medic Dr Steven Dunbar has left his job with the SciMed Inspectorate and now works for a pharmaceutical company. Against his will, he is persuaded to return to Sci-Med when a number of people die in suspicious circumstances, including a former health minister. And then the UK comes under bio-terrorist attack. A disease not seen in the country for a hundred years is let loose on major cities and a group of young Islamic fundamentalists are arrested. But something is not quite right. Steven begins to suspect that there is a dark and ruthless conspiracy at the heart of the outbreak that is much closer to home.

Ken McClure is an internationally bestselling author whose books have been translated into over 20 languages and who has earned a reputation for meticulous research and the chilling accuracy of his predictions. McClure’s work is informed by his background as an award-winning research scientist with the UK’s Medical Research Council. Dr Steven Dunbar, an ex-Special Forces medic, is one of his most popular characters.

Praise for Ken McLure: ‘His medical thrillers out-chill both Michael Crichton and Robin Cook’ – the daily telegraph

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Kenneth Steven

978 1 84697 212 6 7th June 2012 B pbk 72pp Poetry £7.99 Rights: World

A SONG AMONG THE STONES

Kenneth steven was born in Glasgow in 1968 and spent his schooldays in Perthshire. He studied in Norway and translates from both Norwegian and Sami. A widely published poet, novelist and children’s author, his most recently published collections of poems include Evensong, Iona and Wild Horses. His translation of Lars Saaybe Christensen’s Half Brother was a finalist for the 2004 Independent Foreign Fiction Prize. He travels widely to give reading and writing workshops for both adults and youngsters. He lives in Dunkeld with his family. www.kennethsteven.co.uk

In the sixth century, Celtic Christian monks are thought to have made dangerous and difficult journeys from the west coast of Scotland to seek solitude in Iceland. This evocative, pared-down sequence of poems – the imaginary fragments of a lost manuscript – tells their remarkable, little-known story of faith, courage and determination. Praise for Kenneth Steven: ‘Strong and impressive work’ – A. J. Alvarez ‘There is a grave beauty in these lines, revealing a poetic voice of great sensitivity’ – Alexander McCall Smith on Evensong ‘An atmospheric, wintry tale of fragile human relationships set in a beautiful but unforgiving landscape’ – James Robertson on The Ice and Other Stories

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Kevin MacNeil (editor) Also available

978 1 84697 211 9 1st March 2012 Demy pbk 288pp Poetry/Anthology £9.99 Rights: World

A Method Actor’s Guide to Jekyll and Hyde 978 1 84697 183 9 Paperback £7.99 (eBook also available)

These islands, We sing

An Anthology of Scottish Islands Poetry Many of Scotland’s most important poets grew up or chose to live on Scottish islands. This anthology pays tribute to the islands’ creative output by bringing together a huge array of poetic talent, from the internationally renowned – Sorley MacLean, Iain Crichton Smith, George Mackay Brown, Ian Hamilton Finlay, Hugh MacDiarmid – to those fantastic poets deserving of more attention – Jim Mainland, Aonghas MacNeacail, Meg Bateman, Alex Cluness, Jen Hadfield, and many more – in one wonderful collection. With poems exploring the themes of love, language, landscape, identity and belonging, These Islands, We Sing is a significant and heartfelt celebration of poetry and place. ‘Rich and diverse anthology of old and new voices from the margins of the nation . . . themes of love, space and place run throughout’ – the shetland times

Kevin MacNeil was born and raised in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. Novelist, poet, playwright, editor, aphorist and lyricist, his books include A Method Actor’s Guide to Jekyll and Hyde, The Stornoway Way, Love and Zen in the Outer Hebrides and Be Wise Be Otherwise. He is currently working on an album with William Campbell, a new novel, a film, a play and a travelogue-memoir based on his 1,300 km cycle down the Danube in September 2009 for two cancer charities. www.kevinmacneail.com

‘Captain MacNeil has mustered a talented crew’ – Roger Hutchinson, west highland free press

‘Full of unearthed treasures. Evidence, if we needed it, that the language of our northern isles and the poetic mind seem made for each other’ – Simon Armitage

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Sam Meekings Also available

Under Fishbone Clouds 978 1 84697 168 6 pbk £9.99 (eBook also available)

The Bestiary 978 1 84697 046 7 pbk £7.99

978 1 84697 214 0 2nd February 2012 B pbk 400pp Literary Fiction £9.99 Rights: World eISBN: 978 0 85790 033 3

the book of crows

Sam Meekings has garnered international acclaim for his debut novel, Under Fishbone Clouds, which is also set in China. Born in Margate, Sam took an undergraduate degree in Modern History and English Literature at Mansfield College, Oxford University. At the end of his Masters Degree in Creative Writing at the University of Edinburgh, in 2005, that he moved to China to teach English. He works in Qatar as a teacher and editor. In 2006 and 2007 Sam was longlisted for the Eric Gregory Award for Poets under 30 for his debut collection of poetry, The Bestiary, also published by Polygon.

A girl is kidnapped and taken to an isolated mountain brothel; two thousand years later, an alcoholic civil servant searches for a missing colleague; a thirteenth-century Franciscan monk begins an extraordinary deathbed confession; while five hundred years earlier, a grieving Chinese poet is summoned to the Emperor’s palace. With a narrative of subtly interlocking stories, we follow the journeys of characters whose lives, separated by millennia, are all in some way touched by the mysterious Book of Crows – a mythical book in which the entire history of the world – past, present and future – is written down. Praise for Sam Meekings: ‘A powerful and mesmerizing novel, both mythic and intimate . . . a great accomplishment of imagination, insight and lyricism’ – Amy Tan on Under Fishbone Clouds ‘Meekings’ prose is exemplary’ – the herald

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John Buchan

978 1 84697 223 2 5th July 2012 B pbk 240pp Fiction £7.99

978 1 84697 224 9 5th July 2012 B pbk 240pp Fiction £7.99

Huntingtower

The GAP IN THE CURTAIN

Introduction by Ann Widdecombe

Introduction by Stuart Kelly

After selling his business, rich middle-aged merchant Dickson McCunn decides to set out on a walking holiday in the Scottish Borders. There he meets a young English poet, and both soon become embroiled in the plot of an international gang to capture a Russian princess. With the help of the Gorbals Die-hards, an indomitable gang of urchins from Glasgow, they frustrate and finally defeat the gang. And in the process Dickson happens to discover a new meaning to life . . .

What begins as a straightforward holiday weekend for Sir Edward Leithen in a splendid stately home in the Cotswolds soon turns into something altogether different when one of Lady Flambard’s other guests, the enigmatic Professor Moe, enlists the help of Leithen and his companions in a bizarre experiment to glimpse the future. For those who take part, the consequences are dramatic and Leithen’s formidable powers of reasoning are brought to the fore.

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John Buchan was a Scottish diplomat, barrister, journalist, historian, poet and novelist. He published nearly 30 novels and seven collections of short stories. He was born in Perth, an eldest son, and studied at Glasgow and Oxford. In 1907 he married Susan Charlotte Grosvenor and they subsequently had four children. After spells as a war correspondent, Lloyd George’s Director of Information and a Conservative MP, Buchan moved to Canada in 1935 where he served as Governor General until his death in 1940.

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Reprints

For the islands I sing An Autobiography

A time to keep George Mackay Brown 978 1 90459 865 7 17th May 2012 B pbk 192pp Fiction £6.99

George Mackay Brown 978 1 84697 083 2 17th May 2012 B pbk 192pp Autobiography £6.99

‘He gave one hope for poetry and language’ _ Peter Levi

‘George Mackay Brown is one of the masters of the short story form’ – Ali Smith

Greenvoe

Stuart Adamson

George Mackay Brown 978 1 90459 817 6 17th May 2012 B pbk 240pp Fiction £6.99

In a Big Country Allan Glen 9781846971914 17th May 2012 B Pbk 192pp Biography £8.99

‘Greenvoe is a poetic, distinguished and totally delightful Orcadian story . . . full of humour and sensitivity and of the unsentimental poetry of raw experience’ – sunday times

‘An overdue tribute to a visionary musician and honourable man’ – mojo

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John Ashton

New 978 1 78027 015 9 February 2012 pbk, 234 x 156 mm 512pp 12pp b/w illus Current affairs £14.99 Rights: World eISBN: 978 1 78027 015 9

John Ashton is a writer, researcher and TV producer. He has studied the Lockerbie case for 18 years and from 2006 to 2009 was a researcher with Megrahi’s legal team. His other books include What Everyone in Britain Should Know about Crime and Punishment (with David Wilson) and What Everyone in Britain Should Know about the Police (with David Wilson and Douglas Sharp) both published by Blackstone Press.

MEGRAHI: YOU ARE MY JURY The Lockerbie Evidence

You know me as the Lockerbie bomber. I know that I’m innocent. Here, for the first time, is my true story: how I came to be blamed for Britain’s worst mass murder, my nightmare decade in prison and the truth about my controversial release. Please read it and decide for yourself. You are now my jury. — Abdelbaset al-Megrahi For the first time the man known as ‘the Lockerbie bomber’ tells his story. This long-awaited book argues that, far from being an unrepentant terrorist, Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was the innocent victim of dirty politics, a flawed investigation and judicial folly. Based on exclusive interviews with Megrahi himself, and conclusive new evidence, it destroys the prosecution case and puts the Scottish criminal justice system in the dock. Megrahi: You Are My Jury makes a compelling argument that the murderers of the 270 Lockerbie victims were acting on behalf of an entirely different government, rather than Libya, and that the Libyan people were wrongfully accused and punished.

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Alexander Goudie

978 1 78027 036 4 5th January 2012 210 x 280 hbk 176pp Full colour throughout Art, Poetry £25.00 Rights: World

Tam o’ SHANTER Funny, scurrilous, chilling and gloriously inventive, Tam o’ Shanter is widely regarded as Robert Burns’ masterpiece. This magnificent edition of the poem features the work of Alexander Goudie, one of Scotland’s greatest twentiethcentury artists who, over a period of many years, was inspired by the poem to produce some of his most powerful and imaginative paintings, which capture all the menace and comedy of Burns’ poem. Together with introductory essays by historian Edward Cowan, literary critic Alan Riach (both of Glasgow University) and the artist’s son, Lachlan Goudie, this is the definitive edition of one of the greatest works of Scottish literature.

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Alexander Goudie is widely acclaimed as having been one of Scotland’s finest figurative painters. He was born in the Renfrewshire town of Paisley in 1933. He studied at the Glasgow School of Art under William Armour, David Donaldson and Benno Schotz. For many years he was a tutor at the school, before dedicating himself to his own studio work. As a portraitist his sitters included Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Lord Chancellor Lord Mackay of Clashfern, Billy Connolly and a host of other figures drawn from the worlds of politics, commerce and entertainment. He died in 2004.

Alistair Moffat & James F. Wilson

978 1 78027 032 6 2nd February 2012 B pbk 272pp 8pp colour plates History ÂŁ9.99 Rights: World eISBN: 978 0 85790 020 3

Alistair Moffat is a former Director of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Director of Programmes at Scottish Television. He now runs the successful Borders and Lennoxlove Book Festivals as well as a production company based near Selkirk, and has written numerous books. In 2011 he was elected Rector of St Andrews University and in December launched a joint DNA testing initiative with James F. Wilson. He has written twelve books, including Tuscany, The Faded Map, Kelsae, The Reivers, The Sea Kingdoms, The Borders and The Wall, all of which are published by Birlinn.

The Scots

A Genetic Journey History has always mattered to Scots, and rarely more so than now at the outset of a new century, with the new census of 2011 and after more than ten years of a new parliament. An almost limitless archive of our history lies hidden inside our bodies and we carry the ancient story of Scotland around with us. The mushrooming of genetic studies and of DNA analysis is rewriting our history in spectacular fashion. In The Scots: A Genetic Journey, Alistair Moffat and James F. Wilson explore the history that is printed on our genes, and in a remarkable new approach, uncover the detail of where we are from, who we are, and in so doing vividly paints a DNA map of Scotland.

Dr James F. Wilson studied genetics in Edinburgh and Oxford and now works at the University of Edinburgh. He also specialises in Scottish genetic history.

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Norman Maclean

New 978 1 78027 065 4 5th April 2012 B pbk 176pp Fiction £7.99 Rights: World eISBN: 978 0 85790 177 4

CONTRACTS In Contracts, the concluding novel of his highly acclaimed comedy trilogy, Norman Maclean writes with insight and élan about the birth and horrible growing pains of a new creature: Gaelic television. Get to know the greedy – mainly male – apparatchiks of the Gaelic Broadcasting Fund and all the deluded and vain hustlers who are in a frenzy to join the feeding trough of public money provided by the government’s injection of £17 million into Gaelic broadcasting. Norman Maclean’s brilliant and hilarious satire is another virtuoso performance on the perennial themes of greed, lust and folly. Praise for Norman Maclean

Norman Maclean was born in Glasgow in 1936 and was educated at school and university in Glasgow, before going on to teach all over Scotland. He garnered much fame after winning two Gold Medals at the National Mod – for poetry and singing – in the same year, 1967, the only person ever to do so. Shortly afterwards he began a career, as he would say himself, as a clown, and it is in that role, and that of a musician, that he is still best-known today.

‘Perhaps the first Gaelic black comedy’ – John Murray, RTE Radio 1 ‘Norman is a 24-carat comedy jewel that just keeps sparkling’ – Bruce Morton, BBC Radio Scotland ‘Norman Maclean is the Billy Connolly of the Gaidhealtachd ’ – Calum MacDonald, Runrig

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Peter Aitchison & Andrew Cassell

New 978 1 78027 069 2 5th April 2012 B pbk 192pp History £9.99 Rights: World

Peter Aitchison worked as a news journalist with the BBC for twenty years. He is currently Media Relations Officer at Glasgow University. He has written a number of books, including Black Friday: The Eyemouth Fishing Disaster of 1881 and The Noblest Work of God.

The Lowland Clearances

Andrew Cassell was the BBC’s Scotland correspondent. He presented Radio Scotland’s flagship news and current affairs programme, Good Morning Scotland, and also worked for STV.

These Clearances undeniably shaped the appearance of the Scottish landscape as it is today as they swept aside a traditional way of life, causing immense upheaval for rural dwellers, many of whom moved to the new towns and cities or emigrated. Based on pioneering historical research, this book tells the story of the Lowland Clearances, establishing them as a wider part of the process of Clearance which affected the whole country and changed the face of Scotland forever.

SCOTLAND’S SILENT REVOLUTION

The Highland Clearances are a well-documented episode in Scotland’s past but they were not unique. The process began in the Scottish Lowlands nearly a century before, when tens of thousands of people – significantly more than were later exiled from the Highlands – were moved from the land by estate owners who replaced them with livestock or enclosed fields of crops.

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Robin Bell

New 978 1 84158 994 7 17th May 2012 C pbk 256pp 16pp b/w plates, maps Local History £14.99 Rights: World

SET ON A HILL

A Strategic View over Scottish History Offering a refreshing change from standard histories, which so often tell a nation’s story in terms of big events and personalities, Set on a Hill is an engrossing and entertaining book which looks at the broad sweep of Scotland’s history from the perspective of just one small Scottish town – Auchterarder. The story begins in the first century ad, when the Strathearn area lay near the northern frontier of the Roman empire, and continues through the age of Picts, Scots, Britons and Vikings to the coming of Christianity and the medieval Church. Robin Bell then traces Auchterarder’s history through the Renaissance, Enlightenment, the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions, the improvements of the Victorian era, and two world wars, and ends in 2005, when the world-famous Gleneagles Hotel hosted the G8 summit. Set on a Hill highlights an area that has been of surprising strategic historical importance for thousands of years, shows how international events affect a local community and how it often turns round and affects them right back.

Robin Bell grew up near Auchterarder and spent many years as a writer and broadcaster in New York and London. He won the Sony Radio Academy Award for Best British Documentary with Strathinver: A Portrait Album 1945–1953 and the Creative Scotland Award for How to Tell Lies, his fables on the political processes of the G8. He also translated and edited Bittersweet within My Heart, the bestselling collected poems of Mary, Queen of Scots.

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Mike Cawthorne

New 978 1 78027 035 7 5th April 2012 B pbk 224pp 16pp colour plates Travel Writing £9.99 Rights: World

Mike Cawthorne began hill-walking on Ben Nevis aged seven, and has been climbing mountains ever since. He has worked as a teacher, professional photographer and freelance journalist. He has an intimate knowledge of the Scottish Highlands, undertaking his first longdistance trek there in 1982. He lives in Inverness.

Hell of a journey

On Foot Through the Scottish Highlands in Winter Hell of a Journey describes what is arguably the last great journey to be undertaken in Britain: the entire Scottish Highlands on foot in one winter. On one level it is a vivid and evocative account of a remarkable trek – never attempted before – on another it celebrates the uniqueness of the Highlands, the scenery and ecology of ‘the last wilderness in Europe’. The challenge Mike Cawthorne set himself was to climb all 135 of Scotland’s 1,000-metre peaks, which stretch in an unbroken chain through the heart of the Highlands, from Sutherland to the Eastern Cairngorms, down to Loch Lomond and west to Glencoe. His route traversed the most spectacular landscape in Scotland, linking every portion of wilderness, and was completed in the midst of the harshest winter conditions imaginable. Acclaimed on its first publication in 2000, this edition contains an epilogue in which Mike Cawthorne reflects on his trek and wonders what has changed since he carried it out. He warns that ‘wild land in Scotland has never been under greater threat’. Hell of a Journey is a reminder of what we could so easily lose forever.

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Tex Geddes

New 978 1 78027 034 0 5th April 2012 B pbk Local History £9.99 184pp 16pp b/w plates Rights: World

Hebridean sharker In Hebridean Sharker Tex Geddes describes his exploits during the 1950s as a hunter of basking sharks, the liver of which is a valuable source of oil, in the waters of the Minch, between the Inner and Outer Hebrides. Using an adapted whaling harpoon, he and his crew stalked these huge fish often in perilous conditions. Always a maverick, before World War II Geddes had been a boxer and a rum-runner to Newfoundland. During the war he established a reputation as an expert knife-thrower and bayonet-fencer and served in the Special Forces with Gavin Maxwell (author of Ring of Bright Water). He combined the hazardous pursuit of sharks with crewing the local lifeboat, ring-net fishing, lobstering, deer-stalking and salmon poaching. He went on to purchase the tiny island of Soay, where he lived with his wife Jeanne, continued to hunt sharks and became the Laird. His story is full of adventures and fantastic descriptions of a seagoing life in the islands. It has become a Hebridean classic.

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Joseph ‘Tex’ Geddes was born in 1919 in Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, and is believed to have been brought up in Canada. Expelled from school at the age of 12, he tried his hand at various jobs, including as a boxer, a lumberjack and a rum-smuggler. During World War II he served with the Seaforth Highlanders and the Special Forces, and after the war became a shark fisherman. With his wife he bought the Hebridean island of Soay and lived there for 30 years. He died in the Isle of Skye in 1998 and is survived by his son, Duncan Geddes.

Donald Sutherland

Derek Alexander & Gordon McCrae

Butt and Ben A Highland Boyhood

Introduction by Graeme Pagan

978 1 87474 428 3 19th April 2012 B pbk 256pp Autobiography £7.99 Rights: World

Donald Sutherland grew up in Oban at the beginning of the twentieth century. In this charming and perceptive memoir, he reminisces about his early life there, painting a detailed picture of those halcyon years just before the outbreak of the First World War. His privileged upbringing gave him a unique perspective on the upper stratum of society and their concerns and pastimes, and his book abounds with amusing incident and eccentric personalities: the American visitor who mistook young Donald’s kilt for a skirt and thought he was a girl, the sharp-shooting Princess Radziwill who tried to bag a Highland goat (which later suffered at the hands of a none-tooskilled taxidermist) and the clan Maclaine heir who ran off to the London stage are just some of the characters who feature. Donald also meets Edward VII on a grouse-shooting expedition and is asked, who’s the better shot: the king or his father? In addition to all this, there are also astute observations – about Lloyd George’s People’s Budget of 1909 and the coming of war, for example – and wonderful accounts of daily life, from food and schooling to washing, dentistry and religion. Witty and warm, yet never sentimental, this is a classic of its kind.

ReNfrewshire

A Scottish County’s Hidden Past

978 1 84158 799 8 19th April 2012 C pbk 288pp Archaeology/Local History £14.99 Rights: World

Renfrewshire is largely ignored in general studies of Scotland’s cultural heritage. In Renfrewshire, Derek Alexander and Gordon McCrae redress the balance and for the first time provide an overview of the archaeological evidence in the county, which includes the Local Authority Areas of Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire and Inverclyde. Surprisingly, close examination reveals a wide variety of sites and artefacts that relate to the full range of prehistoric and historic human activity in Scotland, from the flints left by Mesolithic hunter-gatherers to the imposing remains of Renfrewshire’s industrial past, which are amongst some of Scotland’s earliest examples. Despite around 40 major excavations in the area over the years, the county’s archaeological heritage has been hidden away in obscure academic journals. Re-examining the old surveys and excavations, and combining them with the ever-increasing results of new work, Derek Alexander and Gordon McCrae have provided a summary guide which will encourage new interest and inform future research.

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Michael Scott

New 978 1 84158 954 1 19th April 2012 A pbk 192pp Colour photos & illustrations throughout Natural History ÂŁ5.99 Rights: World

SCOTTISH WILD FLOWERS Mini Guide

Packed full of information, this pocket-sized edition is a convenient guide for all who wish to learn about the fascinating wealth of wild flowers that can be found in Scotland. Each species is illustrated in full colour with a comprehensive description, plus the plantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s English, Latin and Gaelic names. For ease of use, the plants are grouped together by the type of habitat in which they can be found, including Highlands, Lowlands and Coasts.

Michael Scott is a writer, photographer, consultant, cruise ship lecturer and occasional radio broadcaster on a wide range of natural history subjects. He has a degree in botany, and a particular interest in Scottish, arctic and alpine wild flowers. He is a former Deputy Chairman of Scottish Natural Heritage and a former Chairman of Scottish Environment Link. He is also a member of the Advisory Board of Plantlife International, the wild plant conservation charity. He was awarded an OBE in 2005 for services to biodiversity conservation in Scotland.

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Katharine Stewart

A Croft in the Hills Foreword by Neil Gunn

A real classic among Highland books, A Croft in the Hills captures, in simple, moving descriptions, what it was really like trying to make a living out of a hill croft fifty years ago. A couple and their young daughter, fresh from city life, immerse themselves in the practicalities of looking after sheep, cattle and hens, mending fences, baking bread and surviving the worst that Scottish winters can throw at them. 978 1 84158 791 2 19th April 2012 192pp line illustrations throughout Local History B pbk £8.99 Rights: World

A garden in the hills From the the author of the Highland classic A Croft in the Hills, this illustrated book celebrates one of mankind’s oldest pleasures. Month by month we are taken through a year in the life of Katharine Stewart’s garden. The circle of the seasons is luminously evoked as we are told of the practicalities of gardening, cooking, bee-keeping and wine-making. In her account, peppered with warm, personal insights, good humour and a love of living things, the joy of nature has never sounded so rewarding. 978 1 78027 037 1 19th April 2012 192pp line illustrations throughout Local History B pbk £8.99 Rights: World

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Angus Watson

978 1 84158 367 9 19th April 2012 C hbk 480pp Reference/Gaelic £25.00 Rights: World

The Essential Gaelic– English/English–Gaelic Dictionary Angus Watson’s Essential Gaelic–English and English–Gaelic dictionary is well-established as one of the leading dictionaries of the Gaelic language. This combined dictionary is ideal for learners of Gaelic at all levels, and its generous coverage of vocabulary from fields such as business and IT makes it a valuable tool for all those who require an up-to-date reference work. It contains a large amount of explanatory material, numerous examples of usage and idiomatic phrases and expressions. Many registers and styles are sampled, from the familiar (and occasionally the vulgar) to the formal and the literary. Cross-references draw the user to related words and expressions, and Scots equivalents are provided for a number of headwords.

Angus Watson graduated in Gaelic from Aberdeen University and is a published writer of Gaelic short stories. He has recently completed a PhD at St Andrews University and currently lives in France.

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Russell Findlay

New 978 1 84158 991 6 3rd May 2012 C pbk 304pp True Crime £9.99 Rights: World

Russell Findlay is an investigative journalist who has worked in newspapers for 20 years. He is co-author of the bestselling true crime book, The Iceman: The Rise and Fall of a Crime Lord.

caught in the crossfire

the incredible true story of scotland’s deadliest drug war The deadliest Glasgow gang war of a generation – the Daniel family versus the Lyons – was sparked by an opportunistic cocaine theft from a house party which unleashed a decade of murderous violence. Devastation ensued . . . beatings, slashings, abductions, torture and road-rage murder. Homes were firebombed while children slept; families were ripped apart and witnesses forced into protection. Michael Lyons, 21, was slaughtered when a crime summit at a north Glasgow garage turned into a triple shooting bloodbath, and Daniel lieutenant Kevin ‘Gerbil’ Carroll, 29, had 10 shots pumped into him outside a suburban Asda supermarket in broad daylight as shoppers fled in terror. The desecration of the grave of eight-year-old cancer victim Garry Lyons marked a sickening low. Caught in the crossfire were a band of parents in Milton, Glasgow, who made a brave stand against their community centre being used as a gang hut by the Lyons. Against the odds, they won their six-year battle against routine violence and intimidation, and at the same time exposed a shocking and murky nexus between police officers, politicians and the underworld. This is the explosive story of what happened as the Daniel–Lyons feud spiralled out of control and engulfed a whole community.

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Martin Greig & Charles McGarry

New 978 1 78027 084 5 3rd May 2012 B pbk 256PP Fiction £7.99 Rights: World eISBN: 978 0 85790 190 3

THE ROAD TO LISBON In 1967 Celtic manager Jock Stein stepped from the tunnel of Lisbon’s Estádio Nacional and took up a position pitch-side as his team of home-grown journeymen trotted out to face Inter Milan, the charismatic superstars of Italian football, in the European Cup final. Celtic were a team forged in Stein’s own image, steeled with a relentless industry and integrity by their inspirational manager whose character had, in turn, been honed by the horrors of working in the deep darkness of the Lanarkshire coalfields.

Martin Greig is an award-winning freelance journalist and writer. He lives and works in Glasgow. Charles McGarry is a freelance subeditor and designer for various national and local newspapers. He lives and works in Glasgow.

Martin Greig and Charlie McGarry’s extraordinary novel delves to the very heart of that incredible season through the eyes of Stein – as he plots and plans and drags his team to the very pinnacle of European club football – and those of Tom, an idealistic young fan from the East End of Glasgow whose dreams of life beyond the decaying slums of the Gorbals are inextricably tied to those of his heroes. The Road to Lisbon is a novel of hopes and dreams, of self-discovery and triumph over adversity … and of an unwavering love for an institution that represents so much more than just a football club.

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Claire Macdonald Claire Macdonald ran Kinloch Lodge Hotel on the Isle of Skye. The author of a whole range of highly regarded cookery books, she is a world-famous exponent of Scottish cooking and travels widely, lecturing and demonstrating recipes.

CLAIRE MACDONALD’S FISH

New

Inspiring Fish recipes for Creative Cooks

978 1 78027 080 7 3rd June 2012 234 x 190mm pbk 288pp 12pp colour plates Food & Drink £14.99 Rights: WEL eISBN: 978 0 85790 184 2

Claire Macdonald turns her attention to fish in this practical, inspired and creative collection of recipes. Featuring appetizing soups and tasty dishes that can be served as both starters and main courses, she shows how fish is ideal fare for informal occasions with family and friends as well as more formal dinner parties. In over 150 recipes she demonstrates the remarkable versatility of fish and the enormous number of ways it can be prepared. Her range of sauces to accompany the recipes is equally astounding.

CLAIRE macdonald’s ENTERTAINING SOLO

New

Delicious Recipes for Single Cooks Who Like to Entertain

978 1 78027 048 7 3rd June 2012 pbk 288pp 12pp colour plates Food & Drink £14.99 Rights: WEL

Featuring a huge number of recipes arranged by topic (first and light courses; fish and seafood; meat and game; vegetables and salads; and puddings) this is the essential cookbook for those who cook and entertain single-handed. With an emphasis on meals that can be prepared in advance, or main courses that can be served up in one dish, these recipes are designed for the minimum fuss, so you can relax and enjoy your evening with your guests, free from the stove. With fabulously tasty, stylish food, Entertaining Solo is the perfect kitchen companion for single chefs everywhere.

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Claire Macdonald

Claire Macdonald’s Simply Seasonal

New

Arranged in an easy-to-use format, with recipes arranged by season, Claire Macdonald offers a whole range of recipes for informal entertaining. Whether you’re cooking Claire Macdonald’s mouth-watering sweet potato, lime and ginger soup as a warming winter meal or her pepper-crusted salmon fillets with tomato and basil salsa for a summer gathering, you’ll find that all her recipes are simple to produce, delicious to eat and utilise the very best of seasonal produce. The book features 150 recipes – starters, main courses and desserts – and also includes complete sample menus for each season.

THE cLaiRE MACDONALD COOKBOOK

978 1 78027 083 8 3rd June 2012 234 x 190mm pbk 288pp 12pp colour plates Food & Drink £14.99 Rights: WEL eISBN: 978 0 85790 183 5

New

Distilled from years of experience of cooking at the worldfamous Kinloch Lodge on the Isle of Skye, this is a celebratory collection of the very best of Claire Macdonald’s recipes. It ranges across soups, first courses, fish, poultry and game, meat, eggs, vegetables (both as a main course and a side dish), salads, pasta and rice, stocks, sauces, and breads, cakes and puddings in every shape and form. Whether providing ideas for informal family fare, intimate gourmet meals or special occasions, Claire Macdonald is a remarkably reliable source of foolproof and marvellous recipes.

978 1 78027 081 4 3rd June 2012 234 x 190mm pbk 432pp 32pp colour plates Food & Drink £25.00 Rights: WEL eISBN: 978 0 85790 186 6

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Ian Mitchell

ISLES OF THE WEST

978 1 84158 950 3 17th May 2012 B pbk 320pp 16pp colour plates Travel writing £9.99 Rights: World eISBN: 978 0 85790 177 4

Isles of the West describes a three-month voyage made in the summer of 1996 around the Hebrides. The author explores the major issues peculiar to these fascinating islands. Interwoven with the beauty of the islands and the seductive feeling of freedom which comes from long voyages in small boats, is the nagging worry about alien influences. Both Scottish and European, sentimental and mercenary pressures, are distorting small indigenous societies by imposing outside ideas on communities whose value lies in the freedom from external forces. Who are these bodies, both public and private, that want to save the islands from the islanders? Ian Mitchell’s controversial book examines these conflicts and describes how pleasant it can be to worry about the future while lolling on the sundrenched deck of a gently moving sailing boat.

ISLES OF THE NORTH

978 1 84158 944 2 17th May 2012 B pbk 336pp 16pp colour plates Travel Writing £9.99 Rights: World eISBN: 978 0 85790 099 9

Against the backdrop of one of the world’s most spectacular coastlines, Ian Mitchell sailed up the Nordfjord, down to Bergen, then out to Utsira, andIack home via Inverness. The object of his journey was more than just to enjoy a few contemplative drams during a summer at sea. In this sequel to his much acclaimed Isles of the West (1999), Mitchell continues his investigation into official Britain’s failure to administer rural Scotland for the mutual benefit of people and nature. Ian Mitchell’s narrative combines authoritative background information and personal interviews with local people, many enlivened by the measured dispensation of Scotland’s most famous aid to creative thought. He shows how Norway, a country outside the EU and therefore in control of its own resources, has been able to give a wide measure of freedom to the sort of communities which in Scotland are subject to debilitating control by Edinburgh, London and Brussels.

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Margaret Leigh

Highland Homespun

New

In May 1933 Margaret Leigh took over the tenancy of Achnabo farm, in a beautiful corner of the west Highlands overlooking the Isle of Skye. In this unsentimental yet exquisitely written book, she recounts a year of farming life there, from the burning of the land and ploughing in March, through planting and sowing in April to haymaking and harvesting in September. Incidental details – such as a visit to the smithy, the arrival of some new bulls and the annual journey of the cows to the summer shielings – provide fascinating insights into farming life. Local characters and customs feature too, adding another rich dimension to this reflective and poignant memoir of a world now vanished forever.

CRAPPIT HEIDS FOR TEA Recollections of a Highland Keeper’s Daughter

978 1 78027 041 8 17th May 2012 B pbk 304pp Memoirs £8.99

New

In this book Iby, daughter of John Fraser – one of the first keepers on the Shiness Estate in Sutherland – provides a fascinating picture into life in and around Shinness Lodge, during the early part of the twentieth century. In addition to her charming and insightful descriptions of everyday life – from, cooking farming and gamekeeping to medicine, schooling and childhood games – she also depicts the most ruggedly beautiful and sparsely populated part of Scotland, including events such as the coming of the motor car and the First World War. Several other local contemporaries also wrote down their recollections, and the book includes the reminiscences of Ann Gray, the daughter of the farmer who took on the reclaimed land in the 1980s, and Jimmy Bain, a crofter born after the Great War.

978 1 78027 082 1 3rd May 2012 128pp 8pp b/w plates B pbk Local History £8.99

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Alistair Moffat

New 978 1 78027 079 1 17th May 2012 B pbk 304pp 8pp colour plates History £9.99

Alistair Moffat was born and bred in the Scottish Borders. A former Director of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Director of Programmes at Scottish Television, he now runs the Borders and Lennoxlove Book Festivals as well as a production company based near Selkirk. He has written seven previous books that are published by Birlinn. In 2011 he was elected Rector of St Andrews University.

Arthur and the lost kingdoms The Holy Grail, the kingdom of Camelot, the Knights of the Round Table and the magical sword Excalibur are all key ingredients of the legends surrounding King Arthur. But who was he really, where did he come from, and how much of what we read about him in stories that date back to the Dark Ages is true? So far historians have failed to show that King Arthur really existed at all, for a good reason – they have been looking in the wrong place. In this fascinating and thought-provoking book, Alistair Moffat shatters all existing assumptions about Britain’s most enigmatic hero. With reference to literary sources and historical documents, to archaeology and the ancient names of rivers, hills and forts, he strips away a thousand years of myth to unveil the real King Arthur. And in doing so he solves one of the greatest riddles of them all – the site of Camelot itself.

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Ralph Storer

New 978 1 78027 042 5 3rd May 2012 B pbk 160pp B/W Throughout Walking £6.99 Rights: World

50 BEST ROUTES ON SKYE AND RAASAY Skye’s bristling mountains and sweeping coastline offer an enormous selection of walking and climbing routes through some of the most beautiful and dramatic landscapes in Scotland. For this popular guide, Ralph Storer has selected the very best walks on the island to demonstrate the variety it has to offer new visitors and seasoned campaigners alike. The walks, scrambles and climbs he has gathered offer varying levels of difficulty, from gentle coastal strolls to challenging mountain ascents. This edition of the guide has been brought fully up to date and much new information has been added. As well as guiding the climbers and walkers around the Misty Isle, there are sections on geology, history, wildlife and much more, and comprehensive visitor information is included. Maps and the author’s striking photographs make this an essential guide for all lovers of this most Scottish of islands.

Ralph Storer was born in England but now lives in Edinburgh, where he has worked for many years in the field of Information Technology, latterly lecturing in computer studies at Napier University. He has written many books including a novel, and is a well known and respected author of hill-walking guidebooks. He has walked and climbed extensively all over the world, but feels particularly at home in the Scottish Highlands.

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Traveller Biographies

978 1 84158 702 8 15th April 2012 B pbk 256pp Autobiography £7.99 Rights: World eISBN: 978 1 85790 178 1

978 1 84158 719 6 17th May 2012 B pbk 240pp Autobiography £7.99 Rights: World eISBN: 978 0 85790 179 8

Jessie’s Journey

Tales From the Tent

A bestseller since its first publication, this humorous and poignant biography has a wide and enduring appeal bringing to us the forgotten ways of the travelling family.

In Tales from the Tent, Jess Smith – Scottish traveller, hawker, gypsy, ‘gan-about’ and storyteller – continues the unforgettable story of her life on the road.

978 1 84158 714 1 21st June 2012 B pbk 240pp Autobiography £7.99 Rights: World eISBN: 978 0 85790 180 4

978 1 84158 135 4 5th April 2012 B pbk 208pp Autobiography £6.99 Rights: World

Tears for a Tinker

The Yellow on the Broom

In the third and final book of her autobiographical trilogy, Jess traces her eventful life with her husband Dave and their three children, from their earliest years together.

Betsy Whyte’s story is a unique description of a largely vanished way of life and the story of a people who have suffered much hardship and intolerance.

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Rosemary Hannah

New 978 1 78027 027 2 17th May 2012 Royal hbk 456pp b/w and colour plate section Biography, Architecture £25.00 Rights: World eISBN: 978 0 85790 096 8

the grand designer Third Marquess of Bute

When the third Marquess of Bute (1847–1900) met the renowned Gothic designer William Burges it marked the start of a lifetime’s collaboration with architects and artists, producing work ranging from the High Victorian Gothic exuberance of Cardiff Castle and Castell Coch to the ostentation of Mount Stuart on the Isle of Bute and the sumptuous restoration of the Renaissance Falkland Palace. This fascinating biography tells the story of a rich eccentric, whose learning, insight and kindness produced extraordinary results in architecture and life, a man who combined being one of the richest men of the age with artistic patronage on an almost incomprehensible scale. His magnificent buildings are some of the most visited attractions in Britain today.

Rosemary Hannah first became interested in the third Marquess of Bute when she lived on the island of Bute. While working as a guide at Mount Stuart she gained exceptional first-hand knowledge of the building. In 2000 she was awarded a PhD degree from the University of Durham for a thesis on the third Marquess. She is currently Church History Co-ordinator for the Theological Institute of the Scottish Episcopal Church and lives in Ayrshire.

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Hebridean Stationery

HEBRIDEAN CALENDAR 2013

978 1 78027 038 8 3rd June 2012 300x300mm Full colour throughout Stationery £9.99 Rights: World

This beautiful calendar features distinctive full-colour paintings by one of Scotland’s best-loved authors and artists; it is a wonderful celebration of the extraordinary natural beauty of the Hebrides throughout the seasons. Mairi Hedderwick’s paintings, produced over a period of forty years, expertly capture the unique character of each island and the diversity of land and seascapes, from wind-swept machair and dramatic cliffs to rolling hills and secluded woods.

HEBRIDEAN DESK DIARY 2013

978 1 78027 039 5 3rd June 2012 230x170mm hbk 128pp Full colour throughout Stationery £12.99 Rights: World

This hardback desk diary is illustrated throughout with Mairi Hedderwick’s beautiful sketches of the Hebrides through the seasons. Featuring distinctive full-colour paintings by one of Scotland’s bestloved authors and artists, this exquisite diary is a wonderful celebration of the extraordinary natural beauty of the Hebrides. The paintings have been collected over the past forty years and show the changing face of the landscape. Mairi’s sketches range across many of the isles from Arran to Tiree, capturing the essence of these beautiful and diverse islands. Following the huge success of the previous diaries, this new 2012 version is set to enjoy continued success.

HEBRIDEAN CALENDAR 2013

978 1 78027 040 1 3rd June 2012 156x110mm hbk 128pp Full colour throughout Stationery £7.99 Rights: World

www.birlinn.co.uk

Mairi Hedderwick

New 978 1 78027 021 0 17th May 2012 260x190mm pbk 208pp full colour throughout Art, Travel £14.99 Rights: WEL

Sea change

The Summer Voyage from East to West Scotland of the Anassa In Sea Change, writer and artist Mairi Hedderwick embarks on a six-week summer voyage from the east to the west of Scotland in the antique, 26-foot long, teak cruising yacht the Anassa, sailing through the Caledonian Canal to the fjords of the west; and visiting, among other places, Lochs Linnhe, Etive, Ailort, Moidart, Nevis and Leven. Filled with frank and fresh observations on life, land and seascape and augmented with her own drawings, fold-out watercolours and observations on everything from the history of landscape painting in Scotland to the shipping forecast and fish farming, this is an exquisite account of a wonderful journey around Scotland.

www.birlinn.co.uk

Mairi Hedderwick was born in Gourock, Scotland. As a student she took a job as a mother’s help on the Isle of Coll in the Hebrides, beginning a lifelong love affair with islands and their small communities. Her children were brought up there and now some of her grandchildren. Mairi’s island world is delightfully reflected in the imaginary island of Struay where her perennially popular Katie Morag stories are set. As well as creating children’s books Mairi writes and illustrates travel books for adults, including Highland Journey and An Eye on the Hebrides (Birlinn 2009). She also illustrated the acclaimed Janet Reachfar books, which are published by Birlinn. She continues to live on Coll.

Margaret Rhodes

New 978 1 78027 085 2 29th March 2012 B pbk 208pp Colour plate sections Memoir £8.99 Rights: World eISBN: 978 8 85790 191 0

Margaret Rhodes, first cousin to Queen Elizabeth, was a bridesmaid at the 1947 wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip, and three years later married Denys Rhodes, a grandson of the 5th Lord Plunket. The World War II years were spent at Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace, where she lodged while she worked for MI6. Margaret Rhodes was Lady-in-Waiting to Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. She now lives in the Great Park at Windsor, although she still regularly visits Balmoral and Sandringham.

the final curtsey a royal memoir

The Sunday Times No.1 bestseller publishing in paperback to coincide with the Diamond Jubilee This is the intimate and revealing autobiography of Margaret Rhodes, who was born into the Scottish aristocracy, and a now almost vanished world of privilege. Royalty often came to stay at her house, which was run in the style of Downton Abbey. In the Second World War years she ‘lodged’ at Buckingham Palace while she worked for MI5. She was a bridesmaid at the wedding of her cousin, Princess Elizabeth, to Prince Philip. Three years later the King and Queen attended her own wedding; Princess Margaret was a bridesmaid. In 1990 she was appointed as a Lady-in-Waiting to the Queen Mother, acting also as her companion, which she describes in touching detail. In the early months of 2002, she spent as much time as possible with her ailing aunt, and was at her bedside when she died at Easter that year. The next morning she went to Queen Elizabeth’s bedroom to pray, and in farewell dropped her a final curtsey. This is an enthralling account of a special life, and a unique insight into the intimate moments of the British Royal family. The Queen Mother regarded Margaret Rhodes as her ‘third daughter’, and she has been extremely close to her cousins the Queen and Princess Margaret throughout their lives. The book is full of charming anecdotes, fascinating characters and personal photographs, and is an unparalleled insight into the private life of the British monarchy.

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Kenneth Cox & Caroline Beaton

New 978 1 78027 046 3 7th June 2012 246 x 189mm pbk 240pp Colour photgraphs throughout Gardening ÂŁ20.00 Rights: World

FRUIT AND VEGETABLES for sCOTLAND WHAT TO GROW AND HOW TO GROW IT

Fruit and vegetables have formed a fundamental part of the Scottish diet for thousands of years. This fascinating and practical book explores the history of fruit, vegetable and herb growing in Scotland, and provides a contemporary guide to the best techniques for growing produce, whether in a garden, allotment, patio or window box. Packed with hundreds of colour photographs, drawings and descriptive diagrams, this is a detailed and comprehensive bible for the gardener. In addition to advice on climate and soil conditions, it has contacts for organisations, specialist societies, nurseries and suppliers, as well as a detailed bibliography and list of useful websites.This is an essential reference book for anyone aiming to get the best possible results from their garden produce north of the border.

Kenneth Cox is one of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leading experts on rhododendrons. A nurseryman and author of numerous books, he is also an experienced lecturer on horticulture and plant exploration. He is Managing Director of his family firm, Glendoick Gardens Ltd, a garden centre and mail order nursery in Perthshire. Caroline Beaton was born in North Fife into a family of keen gardeners. She works part-time in and around a wonderful therapeutic garden in Perth and gardens at home in the Carse of Gowrie with an extensive and productive fruit, vegetable and herb patch.

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Aileen Orr

978 1 84158 972 5 21st June 2012 B pbk 224pp Illustrations: 16pp b/w History £7.99 Rights: World eISBN: 978 0 5790 005 0

Aileen Orr was born and raised in Lockerbie before going on to study at the London School of Economics. After working for the Bank of America she joined and headed a new political team as regional director of the Countryside Alliance. She is now an advisor to Michael Russell MSP.

Wojtek the bear Polish War Hero

This is the inspiring true story of one of the Second World War’s most unusual combatants – a 500-pound cigarette-smoking, beerdrinking brown bear. Originally adopted as a mascot by the Polish Army in Iran, Wojtek soon took on a more practical role, carrying heavy mortar rounds for the troops and going on to play his part as a fully enlisted ‘soldier’ with his own rank and number during the Italian campaign. After the war, Wojtek, along with some of his Polish compatriots from II Corps, came to Berwickshire, where he became a significant member of the local community before subsequently moving to Edinburgh Zoo. Wojtek’s retirement was far from quiet: a potent symbol of freedom and solidarity for Poles around the world, he attracted a huge amount of media interest that shows no sign of abating more than 45 years after his death. In an extended introduction, journalist and historian Neal Ascherson reflects on the Polish experience in the Second World War and gives full recognition to the Poles’ heroic sacrifice and the extraordinary influence they had on the countries in which they served.

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Affleck Gray

New 978 1 87474 420 7 21st June 2012 B pbk 156pp 16pp mono illustrations Mystery £7.99 Rights: World

The Big Grey Man of Ben MacDhui I began to think I heard something else than merely the noise of my own footsteps . . . the eerie crunch, crunch, sounded behind me, I was seized with terror and took to my heels, staggering blindly among the boulders for four or five miles.

Affleck Gray was born in Strathspey, and went to school there and then to Aberdeen University. He had a varied career – mountaineer, historian, author, and former forester and landscape consultant – and enjoyed an active life right up to his death in 1996.

Mountaineer and historian Affleck Grey explores one of Scotland’s most chilling unsolved mysteries in his acclaimed account of the terrifying figure said to haunt the desolate passes and summit of Britain’s second highest mountain. Over the years countless climbers have either seen or sensed the presence of some extraordinary being in the misty wilderness of Ben Macdui. But what have they really experienced? A trick of the light or some Yeti-like monster? This book explores the evidence and also looks at similar stories from elsewhere in the world to try and make sense of this bizarre phenomenon.

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Max Benitz

978 1 78027 088 3 7th June 2012 B pbk 304pp b/w throughout Military £8.99 Rights: UK and Commonwealth excluding Canada eISBN: 978 0 85790 095 1

Max Benitz has a diverse career, both as an actor and a writer. Born in London in 1985, he is best known for his role as Midshipman Calamy in the 2003 film Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World directed by Peter Weir. He has also featured in a movie version of Thomas Hughes’ novel Tom Brown’s Schooldays and starred in Trial & Retribution X: Sins of the Father. Since then he has forged a career as a writer and journalist.

six months without sundays

The Scots Guards in Afghanistan Helmand Province, Afghanistan, 2010: the British campaign is in its fifth summer and entering an arduous new phase. British soldiers must partner Afghan forces, protect and win over a sceptical population as well as battle a tenacious enemy. Their weapons will be agricultural handouts and new roads rather than bombs and artillery. It is a controversial plan, not least for the soldiers, some only eighteen years old, who patrol through fields laced with mines and endure sniper-fire in their makeshift checkpoints. Who are these young troops? Trained for war, can they switch to this new reality? What cost will the campaign have on soldiers and civilians alike? Are the Afghan forces and government viable in the eyes of the local people? Is this even the right plan? To answer these questions, Max Benitz spent months living and training with the soldiers in this worldrenowned battalion and was allowed a unique look into their lives. His book provides an intimate and insightful picture of this controversial war: the war-weary locals who hedge their bets, the frustrations of battling a skilled and seemingly invisible enemy, and, above all, the resilience, talent and humour of the soldiers.

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John McCallum

New 978 1 84341 022 5 21st June 2012 B pbk 160pp ÂŁ6.99 Rights: UK & IE eISBN 978 1 84341 022 5

the long way home Introduction by Trevor Royle Foreword by George Robertson A true story of romance and escape during the Second World War. At the age of nineteen, Glasgow-born John McCallum signed up as a Supplementary Reservist in the Signal Corps. A little over a year later, he was in France, working frantically to set up communication lines as Europe once more hurtled towards war. Wounded and captured at Boulogne, he was sent to the notorious Stalag VIIIB prison camp, together with his brother, Jimmy, and friend Joe Harkin. Ingenious and resourceful, the three men set about planning their escape. With the help of Traudl, a local girl whom John had met while working in nearby Bad Karlsbrunn, they put their plan into action. In an astonishing coincidence, they passed through the town of Sagan, around which the seventy-six airmen of the Great Escape were being pursued and caught. However, unlike most of these other escapees, John, Jimmy and Joe eventually made it to freedom. Now, due to the declassification of documents under the Official Secrets Act, John McCallum is finally able to tell the thrilling story of his adventure, in which he recaptures all the danger, audacity and romance of one of the most daring escapes of the Second World War.

John McCallum was born in Glasgow in 1917, and was brought up there and in Oban. He left school aged 14 to work as a Boy Messenger in the Post Office. Aged 18, he transferred to its Engineering Department as a trainee and spent two years on external telephone work, later being transferred to indoor work on switchboards. He joined the Supplementary Reserves in the Royal Signal Corps in 1935, where his stepbrother Jimmy Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Neill was already enlisted. He died in 2011.

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David Ross

New 978 1 78027 087 6 21st June 2012 B pbk 272pp Reference £7.99 Rights: World

David Ross has written numerous books on aspects of Scottish history and culture, some serious and some less so. His most recent is The Killing Time, a study of Scotland between the Covenant of 1638 and the Union of 1707. Scottish humour is a particular interest, and he is compiler and editor of the best-selling Awa’ an’ Bile Yer Heid, an anthology of choice Scottish insults. He is currently working on an anthology of Scottish humour from its earliest appearances to the present day. His favourite quote in the new edition of this book is Don Paterson’s crisp five-worder: ‘Fate’s book, but my italics’.

THE POCKET BOOK OF SCOTTISH QUOTATIONS Compiled and edited by David Ross The Scots have always had a reputation for clarity of thought and also for the vigour with which it is put into words. This new edition of David Ross’s acclaimed collection spans the entire gamut of a nation’s recorded thought and experience from Calgacus in AD 84 to Annabel Goldie in 2011. It covers a vast range of subject matter and demonstrates a remarkable variety of moods and tones, from the literary to the colloquial and bawdy. Packed with sharp observation and humour, it sounds other notes too. Meditative, triumphant, tragic, accusing, tender – and often hilarious – it reveals the spirit of Scotland in a truly unique way.

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David Malcolm & Peter E. Crabtree

978 1 78027 093 7 5th July 2012 C pbk 336pp 16pp b/w & colour plates Biography/Sport £14.99 Rights: World

Tom morris of st andrews The Colossus of Golf 1821–1908

Over 58 million people play golf worldwide. The game has universal appeal and generates more economic activity and employment than any other sport. This book is about how one man, Tom Morris of St Andrews, presided over the greatest period in the development of golf. Born in a humble weaver’s cottage in 1821, he, more than anyone, before or since, in large measure made golf what it is today. The record of Tom and his prodigiously gifted son, Tommy, is astonishing. Between them they won eight of the first twelve Open Championships and are still respectively the oldest and youngest players to have won the Open. Tom relinquished his Open title to 18-year old Tommy in 1868, taking second place that year – a family performance unlikely ever to be repeated. Tom’s 13-stroke victory in 1862 remains the largest winning margin and Tommy’s four Open Championship wins in succession are unequalled. These exploits are only half the story. Tom was the first golf professional, arguably the first to design and build a course (Prestwick) from scratch, and his development of the Old Course at St Andrews made it the most famous golfing arena in the world. His life was an extraordinary blend of triumph and tragedy, marked by the early death of his son Tommy aged only 24 years. Revered by his contemporaries, Tom Morris remains one of the most iconic figures in all sport and his legacy continues to inspire and guide the development of golf today.

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David Malcolm was born and raised in St Andrews. He was a past Captain and Life Member of The New Golf Club, St Andrews. A lifelong student of golf history, he wrote numerous articles for golfing magazines, periodicals and the national press. He died in 2011. Peter E. Crabtree, a retired Yorkshire businessman, has been a life-long golfer and a golf historian for over 30 years. A Founder and Past Captain of the British Golf Collectors Society, he has for many years collected early golfing artefacts, particularly those associated with St Andrews and Tom Morris.

Reprints

the christian watt papers David Fraser 978 1 78027 072 2 Biography/ Local Interest 272pp 1st March 2012 £8.99 B pbk

a school in south uist Reminiscences of a Hebridean Schoolmaster 1800 - 1913 F.G. Rea 978 1 87474 487 0 Local History 240pp 19th April 2012 £7.99 B pbk

tales of braes of glenlivet

Capital of the mind How Edinburgh Changed The World James Buchan 978 1 84158 639 7 History 448pp 1st March 2012 £9.99 B pbk

Isobel Grant 978 1 84158 028 9 Local History 192pp 15th March 2012 £7.99 B pbk

the whisky distilleries of the uNITED KINGDOM Alfred Barnard 978 1 84158 652 6 Food & Drink 528pp 19th April 2012 £30.00 pinched crown quartro hbk

the stornoway black pudding bible Seamus MacInnes 978 1 84158 908 4 Food & Drink 96pp 5th April 2012 £4.99 pbk

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Reprints

A Spade Among the Rushes

the secrets of rosslyn

OLD SKYE TALES

Roddy Martine 978 1 84158 788 2 Scottish History 208pp 2nd April 2012 £8.99 B pbk

Traditions, Reflections and Memories William Mackenzie 978 1 84158 201 6 Folk Tales 180pp 17th May 2012 £7.99 B pbk

the folk tales of scotland

West Highland Tales

CANNA

The Well at the World’s end and other stories Norah & William Montgomerie 978 1 84158 694 6 Folk Tales 272pp 17th May 2012 £12.99 B hbk

Fitzroy Maclean 978 1 84158 703 5 Scottish History 192pp 1st May 2012 £7.99 B pbk

Margaret Leigh 978 1 84158 986 2 Scottish Culture/ Gaelic 288pp 19th April 2012 £7.99 B pbk

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The Story of a Hebridean Island John Lorne Campbell 978 1 84158 200 9 Scottish, Hebrides 396pp 17th May 2012 £14.99 Demy pbk

Reprints

Highland folk ways

a Hundred Years in the Highlands

I.F. Grant 978 1 87474 442 9 Scottish History 392pp 17th May 2012 £14.99 C pbk

Osgood Hanbury MacKenzie 978 1 87474 429 0 Scottish History 224pp 17th May 2012 £8.99 B pbk

The Island and Its Legends Margaret Leigh 978 1 84158 479 9 Local History 240pp 17th May 2012 £7.99 B pbk

This Great Harbour

A Summer IN sKYE

Burt’s Letters

Scapa Flow W.S. Hewison 978 1 84341 026 3 Military History 400pp 21st June 2012 £12.99 C pbk

Alexander Smith 978 1 87474 438 2 Scottish 208pp 21st June 2012 £8.99 B Pbk

Skye

From the North Of Scotland Edmund Burt 978 1 87474 490 0 History 320pp 21st June 2012 £14.99 Demy pbk

the new history of orkney William P.L. Thomson 978 1 84158 696 0 Scottish History 544pp 21st June 2012 £16.99 C pbk

St Kilda George Seton 978 1 84158 033 3 Scottish History 256pp 5th July 2012 £9.99 B pbk

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John Donald

Spring Titles 2012

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John Donald WITNESS TO REBELLION

John Maclean’s Journal of the ’Forty-Five and the Penicuik Drawings Edited by Iain Gordon Brown and Hugh Cheape

978 1 906566 14 2 1st March 2012 90pp Scottish History Crown quarto pbk £14.99 b/w images throughout Rights: World

The journal of John Maclean is a first-hand account of the experiences of an officer of Prince Charles Edward’s army from August 1745, through Prestonpans and the taking of Edinburgh, the march into England to Derby, the withdrawal to Scotland and the final retreat to Drummossie Moor near Inverness, where John Maclean was killed in the Battle of Culloden. Illustrations are taken from a remarkable series of drawings in the Clerk Collection at Penicuik House, which offer a unique view of the participants on both sides of the ’Forty-five: a rising for some, for others a rebellion. No other comparable collection of images is known. These sketches were made in part as a factual record, but also as an exercise in caricature, perhaps as a diversion from the very real dangers and disasters of the time. The result is an insight into the ’Forty-five that is both telling and humorous. This edition includes an introduction and commentary, and a discursive essay which sets the visual evidence of the whimsical images of Highlanders and Hanoverians contained in the Clerk Collection in the context of the society and attitudes which produced them.

ALBA

Celtic Scotland in the Medieval Era Edited by E. J. Cowan and R. Andrew McDonald

978 0 859766 08 1 5th April 2012 296pp Scottish History C pbk £20.00 Rights: UK & IE

John Donald

A group of distinguished Scottish medievalists examines various aspects of the history of Celtic or Gaelic-speaking Scotland from the sub-Roman period to the sixteenth century. It is the first such volume to scrutinise in detail the history of the Highlands and Islands incorporating the most up-to-date research. It examines the evolution of the idea of ‘Celtic Scotland’, tracing the historiography of the Gaidhealtachd through the Caledonians, the Picts and the first medieval writings in the area. It investigates such areas as Galloway as well as surveying politics, culture and the church in the context of the great medieval lordships such as those of the Isles, Argyll, Moray and Ross, and demonstrates how the histories of such provinces were integrated into that of Scotland at large.

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John Donald SCOTLAND IN DEFINITION A History of Scottish Dictionaries Edited by Iseabail Macleod and J. Derrick McClure This book gives an account of Scots and Gaelic dictionaries and glossaries, and also of the contribution by many Scots to the lexicography of English, from medieval times to the major electronic projects of the twenty-first century. It will appeal to everyone with an interest in language in general and Scotland’s languages in particular. Readers will be fascinated by the ways in which poets and scholars through the ages have approached the task of describing their languages, and the influence of their work on popular notions regarding language, notably the contribution which lexicographers have made, and still make, to preserving and developing the Scots and Gaelic tongues through centuries of official neglect and oppression.

978 1 906566 49 4 5th April 2012 336pp Linguistic/Literary History C pbk £25.00 b/w throughout Rights: World

THE STEWART EARLS OF ORKNEY Peter Anderson

New

For almost a century the islands of Orkney and Shetland were under the rule of the Stewart earls, father and son, a rule remarkable for its infamous reputation in island history. Robert Stewart was an illegitimate son of James V, king of Scots, who seized power in Orkney in the 1560s and was created earl of Shetland in 1581. Robert’s son was the extraordinary and ill-starred Earl Patrick, ‘Black Patie’, whose execution for treason in 1615 brought the era to a close. This book has its foundations in two previous books by Peter Anderson, one on each character. This new book builds on more recent work by the author and by other historians of Orkney and Shetland working in a field which attracts a strong popular island readership as well as an academic one.

978 1 904607 46 5 3rd May 2012 304pp Scottish History Royal pbk £25.00 16pp b/w plates Rights: World

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John Donald The Makers of Scotland

Picts, Romans, Gaels and Vikings

978 1 90656 629 6 3rd May 2012 Paperback 240pp 7 b/w maps Scottish History £14.99 Rights: World

New

During the first millennium ad the most northerly part of Britain evolved into the country known today as Scotland. The transition was a long process of social and political change driven by the ambitions of powerful warlords. At first these men were tribal chiefs, Roman generals or rulers of small kingdoms. Later, after the Romans departed, the initiative was seized by dynamic warrior-kings who campaigned far beyond their own borders. Armies of Picts, Scots, Vikings, Britons and Anglo-Saxons fought each other for supremacy. From Lothian to Orkney, from Fife to the Isle of Skye, fierce battles were won and lost. By ad 1000 the political situation had changed for ever. Led by a dynasty of Gaelic-speaking kings, the Picts and Scots began to forge a single, unified nation which transcended past enmities.

COLUMBA

New

Tim Clarkson

978 0 859767 11 8 3rd May 2012 224pp Scottish History Demy pbk £14.99 maps and tables Rights: World

John Donald

Who was Saint Columba? How did this Irish aristocrat become the most important figure in early Scottish Christianity? This book examines the different roles played by the saint in life and death, tracing his career in Ireland and Scotland, where we encounter not only Columba the abbot and missionary but also Columba the politician and peacemaker. We see him at the centre of a major controversy which led to his excommunication by an Irish synod. We follow him then to Scotland, to Iona, where he founded his principal monastery. It was from this small Hebridean isle that he undertook missionary work among the Picts and had dealings with powerful warrior-kings. It was from Iona, too, that his cult was vigorously promoted after his death in 597, most famously by Abbot Adomnan, whose writings provide our main source of information on Columba’s career. The final chapters of the book look at the evolution of the cult of Columba from the seventh century onwards.

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John Donald THE EARLY STEWART KINGS Robert II and Robert III 1371 – 1406

New

Stephen Boardman The Stewart Dynasty in Scotland series aims to bring the rich political heritage of late medieval and early modern Scotland before as wide a reading public as possible, with specialist authors writing for the general reader as well as the student or academic. This volume is number one in the series and is also the first scholarly biography of the two kings who established medieval Scotland’s most famous and durable royal dynasty. Robert II, long regarded as a weak and ineffective king, pursued a determined political and propaganda campaign which largely overcame initial political opposition. Robert III was forced to engage in a long-term struggle with his brother Albany for control of the kingdom.

978 1 904607 68 7 3rd May 2012 368pp Scottish History Royal pbk £25.00 Illustrations: 8pp b/w plates Rights: UK and IE

THE GREAT HIGHLAND FAMINE

Hunger, Emigration and the Scottish Highlands in the Nineteenth century T.M. Devine The Great Hunger in nineteenth-century Ireland was one of the great human tragedies of modern times. Almost a million perished and a further two million emigrated in the wake of potato blight and economic collapse. At the same time, acute famine also gripped the Scottish Highlands and caused misery, hardship and distress there. The story of that lesser-known human disaster is told in this book. The author provides a detailed account of the classic themes of Highland and Scottish history, including clearances, landlordism, crofting life, emigration and migration. The book is based on a vast array of government, landlord, legal and census papers through which the origins, nature and impact of the potato famine are examined. The range of sources and the application of modern historical techniques permit a subtle and intricate reconstruction of Highland history.

978 1 904607 42 7 3rd May 2012 368pp Scottish History Royal pbk £25.00 Rights: World

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BACK TO CALEDONIA

Scottish Homecomings from the 17th century to the Present

New

Edited by Mario Varricchio

978 1 906566 44 9 1st March 2012 304pp Scottish History C pbk £25.00 Illustrations: 10 b/w Rights: World

Return migration is a largely neglected area of historical research in all countries, including Scotland. The contributors to this volume shed light on the experience of Scottish emigrants who decided to head back home, through five centuries of Scottish history, by exploiting analytical tools from history, anthropology, sociology and literature. Drawing on diverse sources, including ‘traditional’ historical sources as well as literary and ‘lived experience’ documents, this collection of essays opens up new avenues of research and features groundbreaking work.

Scottish Life and Society Volume 13

The Law

A Compendium of Scottish Ethnology

New

Edited by Mark A. Mulhern

978 1 906566 04 3 7th June 2012 800pp Law, Scottish Ethnology C hbk £60.00 Illustrations: b/w throughout Rights: UK and IE

John Donald

The law comes from, and runs through, society at all levels. It regulates human interactions and touches individuals at key moments in their lives. This volume provides an easily comprehensible account of the law in Scotland, beginning with its historical development and professional structure before going on to consider the law as an institution. To understand the law as a cultural phenomenon it has also be considered in application. The book reflects on the impact of the law on communities and on individuals at key stages of life. It provides a starting point for those wishing to understand the context in which law shapes, and is shaped by, life and society across Scotland.

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John Donald SCOTLAND’S FIRST OIL BOOM The Scottish Shale-Oil Industry, 1851–1914

New

John McKay At its peak in the years before the Great War the Scottish shale oil industry gave employment to some 10,000 people and was a major factor in the economy of the Lothians, particularly in the Almond valley, from Tarbrax to Dalmeny. The history of its development has largely been neglected, yet Scotland was one of the few countries in which the shale oil industry ever became a successful commercial venture. This book tells the history of the development of this unique industry for the first time. From 1860 to 1863, 23 works were set up to exploit the oil shales, and from 1864 there was a ‘Scottish Oil Mania’, as the industry produced a range of petrochemicals, including lubricating oil, burning oil and paraffin. The industry survived from the 1850s to 1919, in competition with natural petroleum, firstly from the United States and then from Russia and the Far East. Ultimately the innovation of the shale oil industry provided a valuable recruiting ground for

PIPING TRADITIONS OF THE INNER ISLES OF THE WEST COAST OF SCOTLAND

New

978 1 906566 50 0 1st July 2012 304pp Scottish History Royal pbk £25.00 Illustrations: 16pp b/w plates Rights: World

Image not available

Bridget Mackenzie A follow-on to two earlier books on piping traditions (Piping Traditions of the North of Scotland and Piping Traditions of Argyll), this book covers the Inner Isles from Arran to Raasay, excluding Skye, which is covered in a separate book. Written for all piping enthusiasts, this is not an academic study but instead aims to pass on the piping lore that used to be handed down with the music to piping pupils, but is no longer. Written in a light and readable style, the book ranges wildely through the pipers, places and piping stories of the islands, including the rich piping tradition in Tiree, the Rankins’ piping school on Mull, legendary figures such as jovial Andrew MacNeil in Colonsay and the great Mackay pipers of Raasay. Notes on the tunes also give guidance to the mood of a piece. This book is essential reading for any piper who wants to know about the background of the music.

John Donald

978 1 906566 54 8 1st July 2012 336pp Scottish History C pbk £25.00 Illustrations: 16pp b/w plates, 4 maps

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John Donald

Image not available

PIPING TRADITIONS OF THE INNER ISLES OF THE ISLE OF SKYE

New

Bridget Mackenzie

John Donald

9781906566555 1st July 2012 304pp Scottish History C pbk £25.00 Illustrations: 16pp b/w plates, 1 maps

wHEN pIPING wAS sTRONG Tradition, Change and the Bagpipe in South Uist Joshua Dickson John Donald 978 1 90460 752 6 Scottish Culture 342pp 3rd May 2012 £25.00 C pbk

John Donald

A follow-on to three earlier books on piping traditions (Piping Traditions of the North of Scotland, Piping Traditions of Argyll and Piping Traditions of the Inner Isles of the West Coast of Scotland), this book covers the Isle of Skye. Written for piping enthusiasts, this is not an academic study but instead aims to pass on the piping lore that used to be handed down with the music to piping pupils, but is no longer. Written in a light and readable style, the book ranges wildely, including notes on the background of all the tunes prescribed for the Skye competitions, and deals with even Simon Fraser’s MacCrimmon traditions preserved in Australia. This entertaining book is essential reading for any piper who wants to know about the home of piping.

Anstruther A History Stephanie Stevenson John Donald 978 1 90460 744 1 Scottish History 242pp 3rd May 2012 £25.00 C Pbk

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