THE BEST OF SCOTTISH BOOKS

The Battle of George Square, a riot during the Forty Hours Strike in Glasgow, on 31 January 1919, is routinely claimed to be one of the most iconic events in Scottish working-class history. It is also the most mythologised. For a century, the narrative created for the defence of the strike leaders charged with incitement to riot – an ‘unprovoked attack on a peaceful crowd’ as an act of oppression – has been repeated uncritically by academic and popular writers. Mythology has almost completely replaced reality, most notably in the Scottish education system, where educational materials have been described by two prominent historians as, ‘arrant propaganda’ and a ‘perversion of history’.

Now, Gordon Barclay and Louise Heren have undertaken a meticulous examination of the contemporary evidence to tell a more complex story. In doing so they examine the ways writers have failed to subject the celebratory mythology of this iconic event to adequate scrutiny. They document the creation of the mythology, from the writings of the strike leaders to those who use the mythology of the Battle to promote their own politics. They also examine the legal basis and reality of the military deployment to Glasgow in the aftermath of the riot.

The American-born folklorist and musician Margaret Fay Shaw’s passion for the Hebrides led her to the island of South Uist in 1929 and then to Canna in 1935 as the wife of the eminent folklorist John Lorne Campbell.

Her extraordinary work in documenting and preserving traditional Gaelic songs and customs remains a vital resource for understanding Hebridean music, and the Campbells’ house on Canna is a unique collection of priceless material celebrating the Hebridean world. This vast archive also includes Margarets collection of still and film photography, which capture the essence of island life at a time when old traditions were vanishing.

This book celebrates the legacy and life of a remarkable woman, who herself wrote with such wit and flair of her travels and adventures and which took her from turn of-the-century Pennsylvania to 1920s New York, Paris, Nova Scotia and the Hebrides, where she lived until her death in 2004.

Feast is the perfect guide to effortless entertaining, offering nearly 100 recipes across 15 thoughtfully curated menus. Whether you’re planning a festive holiday celebration, a relaxed family gathering or an intimate dinner with friends, this book has you covered.

Drawing on the finest seasonal ingredients, the complete, ready-to-use menus span every kind of occasion, from Sunday brunches and summer lunches to unforgettable Hogmanay celebrations. But don’t feel constrained – feel free to mix and match to create your own unique feasts from the huge range of delicious recipes.

When Kenneth returns to the island after being away for years, he plans to make a good life for himself in his old house. But he soon realizes that things are not going to be as easy as he had hoped. There is no sign of the warm little community he remembers, and not everyone in Baile a’ Chamais is so fond of the stranger who has come among them. It is not long before strange things happen to him, which leave him frightened and confused. He is haunted by problems, and also by little Ella, who lives in a world of her own and spends her life running the moors in search of fairies. Is Kenneth losing his mind? Or is there a spark of truth in the supernatural legends he used to hear from his grandmother when he was little? Apparently, Ben Chianabhail holds many secrets.

Nuair a tha Coinneach a’ tilleadh chun an eilein às dèidh a bhith air falbh fad bhliadhnaichean, tha e an dùil beatha mhath a dhèanamh dha fhèin ann an seann taigh a sheanmhar. Ach chan fhada gus a bheil e a’ tuigsinn nach eil cùisean gu bhith cho furasta ’s a bha e an dùil. Chan eil sgeul air a’ choimhearsnachd bhig bhlàth air a bheil cuimhne aige, agus chan eil a h-uile duine ann am Baile a’ Chamais cho dèidheil air a’ choigreach a th’ air tighinn nam measg. Chan fhada cuideachd gus a bheil rudan neònach a’ tachairt dha, a tha ga fhàgail fo eagal is fo imcheist. Tha e air a bhuaireadh le trioblaidean, agus cuideachd le Ella bheag bhalbh, a tha beò ann an saoghal dhi fhèin is i a’ cur seachad a beatha a’ ruith nam monaidhean a’ lorg shìthichean. A bheil Coinneach a’ dol às a chiall, no a bheil sradag fìrinne anns na h-uirsgeulan os- nàdarrach a bhiodh e a’ cluinntinn aig a sheanmhair nuair a bha e beag? A rèir coltais, cha ghann na rùintean-dìomhair a tha Beinn Chianabhail a’ cleith.

From the author of the Sunday Times bestseller, Pine, comes a haunting and atmospheric new gothic thriller, set in the brooding Scottish landscape.

In this corner of Fife, summer nights meant parties on wind-blown beaches, wrapped in hoodies and denim jackets, pretending you weren’t cold in the stubborn evening light.

Joanie, 2013. Desperate to flee the claustrophobia of St Rule, Joanie has long been looking forward to her big escape. But on the night of her school graduation this dream slips through her hands.

Devastated, Joanie falls into the orbit of an enigmatic couple – Erin and David – who offer her a new kind of escape. Charismatic, older and intellectual, they make Joanie feel alive and important in a way she didn’t know was possible.

Cameron, 2023. When Cameron arrives back in St Rule for Christmas a question burns in his mind: what ever happened to Joanie? It’s been a decade since he saw his former friend, and in truth he hadn’t given it much thought – busily building a life.

But as he starts to look for answers, it becomes clear that someone wants to keep this secret buried at all costs. How far should he go to pursue the truth?

Set amongst the ancient cobblestone of a Scottish coastal town steeped in history, Francine Toon masterfully blends the tension of a mystery with the chill of a modern gothic. This is a story where every shadow holds a secret, and every revelation brings Cameron and Joanie closer to a truth that could shatter their worlds.

A sumptuous collection of magical stories retold for children, with breathtaking illustrations of creatures from folklore.

Travel to the magical Celtic lands to meet shapeshifting selkies, duelling dragons, a terrifying waterhorse, a cheeky changeling, a cunning fairy and a bloodthirsty giant…

In this sumptuously illustrated new collection, award-winning Scottish author and storyteller Lari Don retells classic tales of myth, magic and mischief.

Elise Carmichael’s exciting and luminous illustrations bring the rich shared folklore of the Celtic lands – Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Cornwall, the Isle of Man and Brittany – to life in an outstanding collection that will enchant younger and older readers alike.

The worst monsters are the human kind . . .

Dundee, 1812. Isabel Baxter awaits the arrival of Mary Godwin, a girl of precocious intellect and grand passions, sent north to cure a mysterious ailment. Nestled in woodland on the banks of the Tay, the Baxter family home seems a perfect place for a troubled girl to recuperate. But The Cottage is a place of secrets, memories . . . and monsters.

We know Mary Shelley as the girl who wrote Frankenstein, but there are great holes in the fabric of her story.
Discover the fascinating tale of Mary Godwin: the mind which birthed Frankenstein’s monster.

Years before Frankenstein, this is a story of emerging womanhood and literary intrigue, exploring the many monsters in young Mary Shelley’s life. From the bestselling author of Waterstones Scottish Book of the month, the Specimens, Poor Creatures is perfect for fans of Stacey Halls, Sara Sheridan and Ambrose Parry.

From the bestselling author of Mayflies and Caledonian Road, a heart-enriching celebration of what makes us great: our friends.

If we are lucky in our lives, our friendships will be rich and varied. They will be shared with those with two legs, with four legs, with whiskers or clean faces; they will come dressed in the simplicity of childhood or the professional attire of adult life; some will span decades, and some will be only fleeting. But the thing they will all have in common is that life is not only unimaginable – but unimagined – without them.

In these gorgeous personal reflections, Andrew O’Hagan explores friendship through music and poetry, memory and history, illuminating the many ways and reasons that people come together, and how our lives are all the better because we do.

Andrew O’Hagan’s novel Caledonian Road was a Sunday Times bestseller w/c 31/03/2024

On 9 July 1857, Angus MacPhee, a labourer from Liniclate on the island of Benbecula, murdered his father, mother and aunt. At trial in Inverness he was found to be criminally insane and confined in the Criminal Lunatic Department of Perth Prison.

Some years later, Angus’s older brother Malcolm recounts the events leading up to the murders while trying to keep a grip on his own sanity. Malcolm is living in isolation, ostracised by the community and haunted by this gruesome episode in his past.

From Graeme Macrae Burnet, the Booker-shortlisted author of His Bloody Project, comes a dark, psychological thriller, leavened by moments of black humour and absurdity.

Marc Burrows explores the peculiarly British cultural phenomenon of the Christmas No. 1.

The festive top spot in the Christmas chart was something that, prior to 1973, wasn’t particularly important but has since become a cornerstone of the December news cycle and, for years, an annual cultural moment … that may have reached the end of its life.

He traces the origins of the concept, through the Beatles and the-years-when-it-wasn’t-really-a-thing, the Glam rock boom, Band Aid, novelty records, the X-Factor years and the awful Sausage Roll charity records of the 2020s. This exploration is supported by interviews with figures involved in some of the most iconic hits and notable chart battles of the past half century and obsessive, in-depth research. He explores the sometimes fascinating and sometimes weird and unlikely stories behind some of the most beloved (and some of the most utterly loathed) songs in British musical history.

The Story of the Christmas No. 1 is more than just a nostalgic music book. It subtly explores pop culture and social history, examining our relationship with Christmas, how our national identity is reflected in the music we listen to together, and how the music industry has changed. It also reveals how the Christmas No. 1 reflects the current social reality of today and how technology and culture have reshaped the way music is consumed.

To celebrate Eid, Abdullah’s parents give him a cuddly teddy bear. The bear used to belong to Abdullah’s dad, his abba, and it has a name, but Abba won’t say what it is!

Abdullah and his new bear become inseparable, but he can’t guess what its name is. His siblings, friends and classmates all have suggestions — Bertie, Katie, Olivia, Edward — but none of them feels right. Then one night, when Abba tells a story from long ago in Pakistan, Abdullah remembers his family’s traditions and has an idea. What if the bear has a name like his name?

In this sweet but powerful story, children will learn to value their cultural heritage and about the special bonds between family generations.

Yasmin Hanif wrote Abdullah’s Bear Needs a Name! after working with schoolchildren on a project to tackle the lack of diversity in children’s books. The story was inspired by the real-life experience of children from South Asian backgrounds defaulting to traditionally European names for a teddy bear. Sophie Benmouyal’s bold and fun illustrations are full of character, texture and authentic details.

In the centuries which are the focus of this book, Scotland was going though a period of profound and often violent change.

With the Americas having been recently discovered in 1492, awareness of other continents’ cultures and natural wonders was fast increasing– though both cultures and wonders were often mistreated by colonialists and traders.

At the same time, the recently invented printing press allowed ideas and information to spread more quickly over long distances, thereby helping introduce an atmosphere of profound change.

In the sphere of politics, influential and seditious texts challenged the most powerful institutions which had ruled Europe during the preceding centuries – not least among them, the Catholic Church – and the feudal form of social control, under which a small class of hereditary aristocrats had ruled over the poor and powerless masses, was being called into question.

Politics and religion, especially forms of worship, were closely interwined in a way that is hard to fully grasp today and in each was to be found the cause for civil strife and appalling violence.

As in other countries, Scotland became gripped by the Protestant Reformation and saw new social groups with new worldviews rise into the ranks of the powerful. This involved not just a clash of ideas and of values, but also frequent episodes of prolonged war and often irreconcilable division.

In this book, Johnnie Gallacher zigzags his way through two frenetic centuries of Scottish history. Topics include – but are not limited to – the Rough Wooing, Mary Queen of Scots, John Knox, witch-hunts, Highland clan feuding, the Bishops’ Wars, Cromwell’s invasion of Scotland, MacColla, the Montrose Wars, Royalists and Covenanters, kings and queens, battles: Flodden, Dunbar, Bothwell Brigg, Killiecrankie, Dunkeld, Worcester, also Argyll’s uprising, the Williamite Revolution, the Glencoe Massacre, the Darien Scheme and the Union of the Crowns.

Author Grady Green is having the worst best day of his life.

Grady calls his wife as she’s driving home to share some exciting news. He hears Abby slam on the brakes, get out of the car, then nothing. When he eventually finds her car by a cliff edge, the headlights are on, the driver door is open, her phone is still there . . . but his wife has disappeared.

A year later, Grady is still overcome with grief and desperate to know what happened to Abby. He can’t sleep, and he can’t write, so he travels to a tiny Scottish island to try to get his life back on track. Then he sees the impossible: a woman who looks exactly like his missing wife.

Wives think their husbands will change, but they don’t.
Husbands think their wives won’t change, but they do.

Pop legend Lulu looks back over her astonishing life with fresh eyes, reflecting on all she has learnt.

From the tenements of Glasgow to the Royal Albert Hall and the glittering lights of Hollywood: Lulu’s journey to fame and fortune is like no other British pop star. When she was 14 years old, she was invited down to London to sing, and the rest is history. She stepped into a part she played for the next 60 years. A part she played so well that she gradually lost who she was, becoming the version of herself she thought others wanted to see.

The book charts the highs and the lows of one of the longest running shows in British rock and roll history. It is the story of one woman’s determination to stay real, relevant and happy, and one which ultimately reveals a woman who is far stronger and far braver than anyone knew.

This is a pop memoir like no other.

We can’t afford to delay climate action, but with all the shouting and disagreement it’s hard to know where to turn. In her new book, bestselling environmental star Hannah Ritchie answers 50 key climate questions once and for all, clearing the air so we can get on and fix things.

With so many conflicting headlines out there, it’s tough to sort fact from fiction when it comes to climate change and the solutions we need for a cleaner future.

The first piece of good news is that data scientist Hannah Ritchie is here with the answers and the steps we need to take now. Using simple, clear data, she tackles questions such as, ‘Is it too late?’, ‘Won’t we run out of minerals?’ and ‘Are we too polarised?’. The second piece of good news: the truth is way more hopeful than you might think.

We’re at a critical moment for our planet, and getting the facts straight is step one. But even more crucial is feeling hopeful about what we can do next. The third piece of good news? We already have many of the solutions we need to create a more sustainable planet for future generations.

Clearing the Air is your essential guide whenever you’re feeling lost or overwhelmed about climate change. Dive in, get informed and be part of building a better world for everyone.

Eve Muirhead got her fairy tale career conclusion – an Olympic gold medal to complete the set.

The Perthshire farmer’s daughter, multi-talented in sport, inherited her father’s love of, and talent for, the ‘roaring game’ of curling. The road from child prodigy to best in the world wasn’t a straight line, however. This is the story of hidden adversity, sporting escapism, inner doubt and external pressure.

Teammates and coaches changed but the resolve of Britain’s Ice Queen to fight for her golden ending at a fourth and final Winter Olympics refused to melt. Eve Muirhead changed her sport and will now change perceptions of what it took to become a leader, a role model and a national icon as one of Scotland’s most successful ever athletes.

A RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK, FINANCIAL TIMES BEST BOOKS OF 2025, SCOTSMAN BOOKS OF 2025, COUNTRY LIFE BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2025

The prehistoric sites of Britain and Ireland are places of wonder and wondering. Who made these structures? What did they mean to them? And what do they mean to us now?

Author of the bestseller Steeple Chasing and prize-winning A Tomb With A View, Peter Ross journeys from midwinter at Stonehenge to midsummer at Sycamore Gap. Along the way he encounters bog bodies in Dublin, a wooden goddess in Edinburgh and a chalk giant in Dorset. He asks what it is like to live within the great stone circle at Avebury, what rituals occurred in an Anglesey tomb and what draws volunteers to care for the Uffington White Horse.

These objects and structures speak of the long human story. They offer the comfort of recognition and the pleasure of mystery. There is something about ancient places that fills a hollow in our souls.

Upon A White Horse is a celebration of landscape and people – and all that is beautiful, strange and old.

Del Amitri frontman Justin Currie reflects on life as a touring musician in the shadow of his life changing Parkinson’s diagnosis.

It’s 2022 and we join Justin at the doctor’s office, looking down the barrel of a Parkinson’s diagnosis. After concerned fans noticed a tremor in his hand, Currie sought the medical advice which led him to the discovery that would throw his future into uncertainty.

The immediate fallout of his diagnosis is laid bare in Currie’s candid, stream of consciousness voice. A voice that is also by turns poetic, self-deprecating and darkly humorous across a series of diary entries that capture Justin’s innermost feelings ― part travelogue, part confessional.

Following a coming to terms with the situation whilst on tour in the U.S, the second half of the story joins Currie in 2024, supporting Simple Minds on tour with Del Amitri. Anger, heartbreak and a looming sense of finality concoct a terse relationship between what once was and what may never be. Yet, page after page, what prevails is the achingly perfect timing of his acerbic wit.

The Tremolo Diaries is a beautiful and unique meditation on illness and aging. It is a twilight years reflection on band life in the 21st Century. It’s a travelogue around the world’s art galleries, parks, bars and sites of natural beauty. And most importantly, it is about love and friendship, adversity and courage, life and loss.

In a first-of-its-kind exploration of Parkinson’s by a multi-platinum selling musician, The Tremolo Diaries looks the dramatic irony of Currie’s affliction in the eye, puts down the guitar, and returns the needle to the start of the song.

Step into the magical world of Hedgewitch, where the land of Faerie lies just beyond our own . . . The fourth book in the enchanting Hedgewitch series, perfect for children age 9+ and readers of Nevermoor and Michelle Harrison.

To complete the next step in her witch’s training, Cassie Morgan must invent a brand-new spell. However, she is struggling for inspiration – so she jumps at the chance to attend the Covenmoot.

Every five years, covens from all over Britain and Ireland meet to take part in a series of challenging games in the hopes of winning the Covenmoot Cauldron. Cassie and her friends travel to Glen Carlin, a remote valley in the Scottish Highlands, to take part. But menacing forces haunt the moors and rumours of the ancient Stonewitch swirl through the camp.

Cassie and her coven must work together to prove themselves in the Covenmoot, while long-hidden secrets come to light and the wicked Erl King’s power grows.

Witches aren’t born, they’re made …

The problem started, as problems often do, with a penguin.

From Kings and Emperors to Macaronis and Rockhoppers, penguins are one of the most immediately recognisable animals on Earth. Yet for all that familiarity, what do we really know about them? An Inconvenience of Penguins follows award-winning travel writer Jamie Lafferty as he visits all 18 species in a bid to understand the birds and their extraordinarily varied habitats a little better. On voyages to some of the world’s most inaccessible and challenging landscapes, he recounts the history of our unique relationship with the world’s most popular bird, telling stories of the penguins, but also the people and places around them.

From getting stranded in the Galapagos to marching through African guano fields, and leading photography groups in the Antarctic to taking psychedelics on the Falklands, this is a birding quest like no other. Along the way Lafferty relives the experiences of early polar explorers, for who penguins were perplexing mysteries, welcome companions and even occasional meals, and meets the modern penguin lovers trying to save their fragile environments.

Featuring cameos from a wide cast of characters including Ernest Shackleton, Charles Darwin, and Sir Francis Drake, as well as beautiful photographs of each penguin species, An Inconvenience of Penguins is part-love letter to and part-biography of these remarkable creatures.