Corrag
Susan Fletcher
I’m currently reading this book which begins with the Massacre of Glencoe on 13th February 1692, when members of the McDonald clan were slaughtered for their loyalty to the exiled King James II. Fifty miles south in Inveraray, Corrag is falsely imprisoned for her involvement in the Massacre. She is accused of witchcraft and murder, and awaits her death at the burning stake. Inveraray and Glencoe are both places you should include on your historical road trip through Scotland. The scenery is breathtaking and remains much as it was when Bonnie Prince Charlie and the clans were plotting rebellion against the English.
“We are bought and sold for English gold such a parcel of rogues in a nation.” ROBERT BURNS
JAMIE’S GREAT BRITAIN COOKBOOK
Jamie Oliver
British food culture has embraced the different flavours and influences from all of the people who have settled there and Jamie brings together some classic recipes using local and seasonal produce. I always find his recipes easy to follow, and it was here that I discovered Ecclefechan Tart with a dollop of whisky and ginger cream. Even with a double dessert course my clans’ woman couldn’t get enough of it!
THE GOOD PEOPLE
Ann Cleeves
I must admit I first became aware of this book after watching the TV show “Shetland.” If you’re over forty, you may have a crush on lead actor Douglas Henshall, who also appeared in Outlander. This is the first in a series of crime novels set on the remote Shetland Isles and featuring lead Detective Jimmy Perez. The novels are as dark and mysterious as the Scottish landscape, and will make you want to add these islands to your Scottish itinerary. Raven Black begins on New Year’s Eve with a lonely outcast, Magnus Tait who waits for visitors who never come. Next morning a murder is discovered and Magnus becomes the prime suspect.
CLANLANDS: Whisky, War and a Scottish Adventure (release date 10 November 2020)
Sam Heughan and Graham McTavish
It’s going to be a while before the next series of Outlander, and maybe just as long before we can travel to Scotland again so hopefully this book will tide us over. Sam Heughan plays the lead character, Jamie Fraser and Graham McTavish played his uncle Dougal McKenzie, a clan warlord. After playing Highlanders these two decided to produce a podcast, which lead to a tv series which lead to a book. The TV series doesn’t have a release date as yet but it’s called “Men in Kilts.” Now you know my fascination with men in kilts, I’ve pre-ordered my copy already. Click on the image if you want to do the same.
THE GOOD PEOPLE
Hannah Kent
This is the second book by Hannah Kent and although it’s set in rural Ireland, I’ve chosen it because it’s a story set against a backdrop of folklore, faeries, healers and changelings, all of which are common themes in Scottish fiction. This story is based on a real case found by the author in a 19th century newspaper and tells the story of three women brought together by strange and troubling events, “some folk are born different.” According to European folklore, changelings are the deformed offspring of fairies. It is said that the fairies will substitute this for a human infant to strengthen fairy stock. The return of the original child may be brought about by making the changeling laugh or by torturing it; this latter belief was responsible for numerous cases of actual child abuse. The first Outlander book also features a story of a changeling when Claire Fraser is gathering plants in the woods she finds a baby laid in a hollowed rock, accompanied by a bowl of milk and some wild flowers tied with red thread. The hope is that the faeries will swap it back and the parents will be able to retrieve their own child the next morning.
