Reviews
The perfect guide to research your Scots family roots
Tracing Your Scottish Ancestors is great starting point for anyone who has an interest in their Scots roots. It is aimed primarily at family historians who are eager to explore and understand the world in which their ancestors lived. He guides readers through the wealth of material available to researchers in Scotland and abroad. He…
Read MoreThe sad real-life story of the ‘Victorian Titanic’
Gill Hoffs’ enthusiasm for the subject of The Sinking of the RMS Tayleur and extensive research makes for an absolutely fascinating read . It’s a piece of work scattered with inserts from historical reports and newspaper articles. The book starts by painting a picture of the social and economic problems in 19th century Ireland with…
Read MoreDaunderlust – a book sharing the untold Scots stories
Daunderlust is a beautifully eclectic and eccentric collection of stories about a side of Scotland that is rarely seen by the average visitor (or by many who have lived in the country all their lives). And they certainly has never been mentioned in VisitScotland’s ongoing campaign to promote Scottish culture and encourage tourism. But, like…
Read MoreA well-researched look at who the Picts were
The first time I heard about the Picts, the ancient people of the North of Scotland, I was hooked. My dad told me all about them during a trip to visit family in Aberdeen, and my imagination went into overtime, imagining who they were, and where they lived compared to where I was visiting. The…
Read MoreIt’s definitely worth trying to grab hold of Letting Go
Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing, according to the old song (and film). And it most definitely is in Letting Go: A Timeline of Tales, by Gerda Stevenson. The Twelve Stories in Letting Go take us on a journey through landscape, language and turbulent times, from the mid-19th century to the present day, and into the…
Read MoreScotland’s capital shown literally in a different light
When people visit Scotland, something they always notice is the weather. You can never quite guarantee that it will be the same two days in a row – look at the past week, for example – heavy rain and wind on Saturday, and Sunday was like a cool summer’s day. This inclement weather has been…
Read MoreA mystery with a hint of some Gothic romance
Author Gillian Galbraith is one of the gems of Tartan Noir. As a writer, her Alice Rice mystery series has been crtically acclaimed, and, during the first lockdown in 2020, her library eBook borrowings outstripped Hilary Mantel, Michelle Obama and Sally Rooney – in the top ten, the first novel in the series Blood in…
Read MoreThe story of the man who hunted Nessie
The Man Who Filmed Nessie is as much the story of the Dinsdale family as it is a history of the legend of a monster in the waters of Loch Ness. The author’s father was Tim Dinsdale, an aeronautical engineer who, over the space of 27 years, undertook 57 expeditions in search of Nessie. Whether…
Read MoreA trip doon the watter that may float your boat
The west of Scotland sense of humour is a creature in its own right. And if you’re a fan of the likes of Tony Roper and Dorothy Paul, the Kerryoans up the Clyde! is definitely the book for you. This book, illustrated by Bob Dewar, recounts the adventures of a vessel full of character with…
Read MoreA magical collection of 36 short stories
The garden is an oasis, a pocket of nature in our busy modern lives, full of plants, animals, insects – and a fair bit of magic. And it’s somewhere that, just behind that rock, or underneath a flower, there could be something magical or mystical: a fairy, an elf or a talking bee. Folk Tales…
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