A fascinating look at the time of Mary, Queen of Scots

The Survival of the Crown is hefty tome that is definitely one for the history scholar, rather than the casual reader. This is volume two, and the concluding part of Stedall’s heavily researched history of Mary, Queen of Scots, offering a detailed contribution to our understanding of this most significant period in the history of…

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The fascinating rise of a Scots statesman

The eventful life and career of Sir John Malcolm, a distinguished combatant, statesman and man of letters who spent most of his life in India, has been a story little told in his native Scotland. An ambitious and bold man who left his impoverished beginnings as one of 17 children of a tenant farmer in…

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A fascinating look at the world in 100 moments

You are not alone in wondering how one goes about filtering through a million years to form an articulate narrative. Yet Neil Oliver achieves this incredibly succinctly and with rare wit. Travelling through space and time on a whistlestop tour of the world, Oliver offers a tangible array of moments which give an invaluable and…

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Scottish history brought to life by Denise Mina

A tale of Scottish Tudor history told through a modern perspective, the multi-award-winning author captures our imaginations once more. Reviving the rule of Mary, Queen of Scots and her husband’s plot to murder her private secretary David Rizzio while she watches, this is a masterful reflection on one of Scottish history’s darkest periods. Quick paced…

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A family’s history captured on film since 1840

The Lindsays of Balcarres spans a century of photographs from an ancient Scottish family. The book began with the rediscovery of some old dusty photograph albums one wet afternoon at the home of the author’s late father in Fife. The photographs, which begin at the birth of photography in the 1840s, unravel a family narrative…

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A fascinating look at deer – in real life, myths and art

The Celts called them ‘fairy cattle’ and the Greeks associated them with the hunter goddess Artemis, but for most people today, deer are seen as cute, like Bambi, or noble, like the Monarch of the Glen. Deer appear in religion and mythology, on coats of arms, in fine art, and in literature ranging from The…

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A mystery from Alexander McCall Smith

Esteemed writer Alexander McCall Smith brings us a new and exciting enigma. Set in the unusual location of Ceylon just before WWII, it follows the story of a ‘pavilion in the clouds’ – the place where a confrontation between suspicious governess Miss White, and protagonist Bella’s parents leads to a gunshot being fired. Years later,…

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This book is a joyous journey of discovery

Ever felt that your life is unfulfilled? Well, so does Carole Gunn. Everyday Magic focuses on Carole, the Scottish mother to a teenage daughter and a wife to a distant husband who spends the majority of his time in New York. Carole feels that she is stuck with mediocrity. Fed up with daily life and…

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Spooky 19th century tales from a Scots writer

As Halloween approaches, we all like a little bit of a scare. Despite being a household name during the latter half of the 19th century, few today are aware of the thrilling tales of Margaret Oliphant, and yet they are ripe for rediscovery. From suspenseful hauntings to strange tales of afterlife and the emotional echoes…

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Short story collection is a great little read

Edinburgh Shorts is a collection of 16 short stories set in the city of contrasts that is Edinburgh. The characters and their lives are as varied as the setting and the versatility of the stories holds the interest of the reader with ease. The charm of this book is that the stories are short enough…

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