THE BEST OF SCOTTISH BOOKS

The most up-to-date account of the Scottish architect and designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s masterwork, The Mackintosh Building at The Glasgow School of Art is a monument of international significance in the history of architecture and design. Designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868-1928), its soaring studios and atmospheric spaces would serve to educate and inspire generations of architects, artists, and designers, as well as attract visitors from around the globe. This book presents the updated story of “The Mack”, incorporating for the first time the history of the building during the post-Mackintosh era up to the present day, including the May 2014 fire, reconstruction efforts, and the devastating fire of 2018 that destroyed most of the building. Illustrated with historical and archival images, reconstruction photographs, and visualisations using the latest 3D scanning technologies, it presents a comprehensive history of the context and creation of this building. The book updates knowledge of the building gleaned from the reconstruction process, including corrections of well-rehearsed assumptions. It also addresses controversies surrounding the second fire, examining issues around fire management that have received much public scrutiny. Including new and unpublished images, The Mack explores the significance of Mackintosh’s masterwork, its international design importance, and its profound impact on its community of users.

An extensively researched, myth-busting account of the world’s most famous monster hoax-the Loch Ness Monster-and a cautionary tale on the dangers of misinformation.

In 1934, a man was walking by a lake in the Scottish Highlands when he saw a long-necked creature swimming in the water. He grabbed his camera and snapped a photo. When the photo landed on the front page of the Daily Mail, it shattered the belief that paranormal creatures were pure fiction. But amid the monster-hunting craze, complex conspiracies soon emerged. The Loch Ness Monster became more than a mysterious sea creature-it became a phenomenon that caused people to question their assumptions and dig for the truth.

Meticulously researched through primary sources and in-depth interviews with key figures, Loch Ness Uncovered is the fascinating true story of the conspiracy that sparked intrigue worldwide. Complete with archival images, an engaging narrative, and a guide to media literacy, here is a nonfiction book that will transport young readers to the thrilling world of monster mania.

A guidebook to walking the West Highland Way, one of Scotland’s Great Trails. Covering 155km (97 miles) from Milngavie to Fort William, the route is suitable for walkers of most abilities and takes around a week to complete.

The trail is described from south to north in 7 stages of between 14 and 33km (9?20 miles).

Contains step-by-step description of the route alongside 1:100,000 maps

Includes a separate map booklet containing OS 1:25,000 mapping with the route line

A handy trek planner highlights the availability of facilities and public transport along the route

Accommodation listings provided

Sized to easily fit in a jacket pocket

A guidebook to walking the West Highland Way, one of Scotland’s Great Trails. Covering 155km (97 miles) from Milngavie to Fort William, the route is suitable for walkers of most abilities and takes around a week to complete.

The trail is described from south to north in 7 stages of between 14 and 33km (9?20 miles).

Contains step-by-step description of the route alongside 1:100,000 maps

Includes a separate map booklet containing OS 1:25,000 mapping with the route line

A handy trek planner highlights the availability of facilities and public transport along the route

Accommodation listings provided

Sized to easily fit in a jacket pocket

A guidebook to walking the West Highland Way, one of Scotland’s Great Trails. Covering 155km (97 miles) from Milngavie to Fort William, the route is suitable for walkers of most abilities and takes around a week to complete.

The trail is described from south to north in 7 stages of between 14 and 33km (9?20 miles).

Contains step-by-step description of the route alongside 1:100,000 maps

Includes a separate map booklet containing OS 1:25,000 mapping with the route line

A handy trek planner highlights the availability of facilities and public transport along the route

Accommodation listings provided

Sized to easily fit in a jacket pocket

St Columba is one of the most important figures in the early history of the British Isles. A native of Donegal and a nobleman of royal ancestry, his outstanding religious career spanned both sides of the Irish Sea. On the Scottish island of Iona he founded his principal monastery where he served as abbot until his death in AD 597. Iona eventually became the centre of a powerful federation of monasteries that preserved a memory of Columba and nurtured the saintly cult that grew around him.

Drawing on contemporary sources – particularly the writings of Adomnán, abbot of Iona from 679 to 704 – and the latest modern research, this book traces Columba’s achievements and legacy. It examines his roles as abbot, scholar and missionary as well as his involvement in the affairs of kings in both Ireland and northern Britain.

No.

Not the Palace.

Anywhere but the Palace.

12-year-old Alexander Buchan was once content, training as a falconer at Strathbogie Castle in Huntly. But when his Earl sends him to Edinburgh to the court of the newly arrived Mary, Queen of Scots, the boy finds himself lured into a world of intrigue, terror and treachery. Alexander knows right from wrong, but how can he hope to outwit the Earl’s murderous messenger? Surely no one can defy such a powerful master whose wife is rumoured to be a witch!

Soon, more than the boy’s own life is at stake: his friend Lizzie is arrested and the the angry clouds of Reformation Scotland gather around the young Queen. It seems that Alexander must spy – or die.

Centering on the difficult and important subject of medieval rape culture, this book brings Middle English and Scots texts into conversation with contemporary discourses on sexual assault and the #MeToo movement. The book explores the topic in the late medieval lyric genre known as the pastourelle and in related literary works, including chivalric romance, devotional lyric, saints’ lives, and the works of major authors such as Margery Kempe and William Dunbar. By engaging issues that are important to feminist activism today – the gray areas of sexual consent, the enduring myth of false rape allegations, and the emancipatory potential of writing about survival – this volume demonstrates how the radical terms of the pastourelle might reshape our own thinking about consent, agency, and survivors’ speech and help uncover cultural scripts for talking about sexual violence today.

In addition to embodying the possibilities of medievalist feminist criticism after #MeToo, Rape Culture and Female Resistance in Late Medieval Literature includes an edition of sixteen Middle English and Middle Scots pastourelles. The poems are presented in a critical framework specifically tailored to the undergraduate classroom.

Along with the editors, the contributors to this volume include Lucy M. Allen-Goss, Suzanne M. Edwards, Mary C. Flannery, Katharine W. Jager, Scott David Miller, Elizabeth Robertson, Courtney E. Rydel, and Amy N. Vines.

On 31 December 1918, hours from the first New Year of peace, hundreds of Royal Naval Reservists from the Isle of Lewis poured off successive trains onto the quayside at Kyle of Lochalsh. A chaotic Admiralty had made no adequate arrangements for their safe journey home. Corners were cut, and that evening HMY Iolaire sailed from Kyle of Lochalsh, overloaded, and with life-belts for less than a third of all on board. It never made it. At two in the morning, in pitch-black and stormy conditions, she piled onto rocks only half a mile from Stornoway pier, where friends and relatives eagerly awaited the return of their heroes. 205 men drowned  – men who had come through all the dangers of the War only to die on their own doorstep, at the mouth of a harbour many could themselves have navigated with ease, on a day precious to Highlanders for family, celebration and togetherness.

The loss of the Iolaire remains the worst peacetime British disaster at sea since the sinking of the Titanic. Yet, beyond the Western Isles, few have ever heard of what is not only one of the cruelest events in our history but an extraordinary maritime mystery ? a tale not only of unfathomable political and Naval incompetence and abiding, official contempt for the lives of Highlanders, but of individual heroism, astonishing escapes, heart-rending anecdote and the resilience and faith of a remarkable people.

A booklet of all the mapping needed to complete the West Highland Way, one of Scotland’s Great Trails. Covering 155km (97 miles) from Milngavie to Fort William, the route is suitable for walkers of most abilities and takes around a week to complete.

The full route line is shown on 1:25,000 OS maps

The map booklet can be used to walk the trail in either direction

Sized to easily fit in a jacket pocket

The relevant extract from the OS Explorer map legend is included

An accompanying Cicerone guidebook – Walking the West Highland Way is also available, which includes a copy of this map booklet

A booklet of all the mapping needed to complete the West Highland Way, one of Scotland’s Great Trails. Covering 155km (97 miles) from Milngavie to Fort William, the route is suitable for walkers of most abilities and takes around a week to complete.

The full route line is shown on 1:25,000 OS maps

The map booklet can be used to walk the trail in either direction

Sized to easily fit in a jacket pocket

The relevant extract from the OS Explorer map legend is included

An accompanying Cicerone guidebook – Walking the West Highland Way is also available, which includes a copy of this map booklet

“Lavishly illustrated guidebook with route map plus practical information” – Scots Magazine

The Loch Lomond & Cowal Way is one of Scotland’s Great Trails. It runs for 57 miles (91 km) across the Cowal peninsula, which lies west of Glasgow and is easily reached by public transport, road and ferry. The route starts at Portavadie on Loch Fyne and ends at Inveruglas on Loch Lomond.

The trail is waymarked and undulating, with rugged terrain and glorious views over the Isle of Bute and the Firth of Clyde. The area is rich in history and heritage, with wildlife sightings including red squirrel, red deer and golden eagle.

Cowal has ferries to Bute, to Kintyre and (in season) across Loch Lomond to join the West Highland Way. It’s the missing link that enables Scotland’s ultimate long-distance walk, from Kintyre all the way to Inverness.

In 2018 the route’s name was extended to Loch Lomond & Cowal Way to reflect the fact that over 50% of it runs within the Loch Lomond & Trossachs National Park. This new edition updates the guidebook of that name and contains many new photographs.

Showcases the latest research on Scotland’s rural economy and society.

Early modern Scotland was predominantly rural. Agriculture was the main occupation of most people at the time, so what happened in the countryside was crucial: economically, socially and culturally. The essays collected here focus on the years between around 1500 and 1750. This period, although before the main era of agricultural “improvement” in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, was nevertheless far from static in terms of agrarian development. Specific topics addressed include everyday farming practices; investment; landlords, tenants and estate management; and the cultural context within which agriculture was “imagined”. The disastrous famine of 1622-23 is analysed in detail. The volume is completed by a comprehensive survey of recent historiography, setting agricultural history in its broader context.

Follow the adventures of Molly the hare, Olive the owl and Dexter the fox in a delightful series for toddlers from multi award-winning author and artist Catherine Rayner.

Dexter the fox LOVES to play chase with Molly the hare and Olive the owl… But Molly keeps bounding away on her big feet, and it only takes one flap of her wings for Olive to swoop ahead. They’re just so quick: try as he might, Dexter can’t keep up! Whatever can he do? With each story starring a different member of this adorable trio, the Molly, Olive and Dexter books explore big emotional themes with gentle humour and gorgeous artwork; don’t miss the other stories in the series: Molly, Olive and Dexter and Molly, Olive and Dexter: The Guessing Game!

‘Catherine Rayner has a marvellous gift for capturing the souls of animals in a few, rich washes of colour.’ Daily Telegraph

Follow the adventures of Molly the hare, Olive the owl and Dexter the fox in a delightful series for toddlers from multi award-winning author and artist Catherine Rayner.

Dexter the fox LOVES to play chase with Molly the hare and Olive the owl… But Molly keeps bounding away on her big feet, and it only takes one flap of her wings for Olive to swoop ahead. They’re just so quick: try as he might, Dexter can’t keep up! Whatever can he do? With each story starring a different member of this adorable trio, the Molly, Olive and Dexter books explore big emotional themes with gentle humour and gorgeous artwork; don’t miss the other stories in the series: Molly, Olive and Dexter and Molly, Olive and Dexter: The Guessing Game!

‘Catherine Rayner has a marvellous gift for capturing the souls of animals in a few, rich washes of colour.’ Daily Telegraph

‘Forensic scientist Rhona MacLeod has become one of the most satisfying characters in modern crime fiction’ – Daily Mail

A remote shoreline. A lethal killer. As lone visitors disappear from the rural northwest of Scotland, campsites are becoming crime scenes. The Wild Coast is a chilling thriller from Lin Anderson.

When forensic scientist Rhona MacLeod is brought in to analyse a shallow grave on Scotland’s west coast, she is disturbed by a bundle of twigs crafted into a stickman and left in the victim’s mouth.

Then, when a young woman is reported missing from a nearby campsite with another sinister figurine left in her van, it seems that someone is targeting wild campers. An idyllic coastline known for providing peace and serenity, now the area is a hunting ground.

As her investigation proceeds, Rhona is forced to reconsider her closest bonds. Rumours of sexual assault offences by serving police officers are circling in Glasgow, which may include her trusted colleague DS Michael McNab. Could it be true, or is someone looking to put him out of action?

All the while a young woman’s life is on the line and the clock is ticking . . .

‘Lin Anderson is one of Scotland’s national treasures’ – Stuart MacBride, author of the Logan McRae series

Though they can be read in any order, The Wild Coast is the seventeenth thriller featuring Rhona MacLeod. The forensic crime series continues with Whispers of the Dead.

An island full of secrets. A gripping love story . . .

All her young life Effie Gillies has lived, wild and free, on the remote Scottish island of St Kilda. But when Lord Sholto visits the island, the attraction between them is instant. For one glorious week she guides the handsome young Lord around the isle, and falls in love for the first time. But a storm hits and her world falls apart.

Three months later, all the islanders are moved to a better life on the mainland. And Effie is surprised to be offered a job working for Sholto’s father. But Sholto and Effie come from two different worlds – can love ever win?

The Last Summer is based on the true history of St Kilda and its small island community.

‘The most exciting, enchanting story of forbidden love I’ve ever read. – Cathy Bramley

‘I loved it and can’t wait for the next in the series!’ – Jill Mansell

‘Perfect for everyone dreaming of summer’ – Rachel Hore

An island full of secrets. A gripping love story . . .

All her young life Effie Gillies has lived, wild and free, on the remote Scottish island of St Kilda. But when Lord Sholto visits the island, the attraction between them is instant. For one glorious week she guides the handsome young Lord around the isle, and falls in love for the first time. But a storm hits and her world falls apart.

Three months later, all the islanders are moved to a better life on the mainland. And Effie is surprised to be offered a job working for Sholto’s father. But Sholto and Effie come from two different worlds – can love ever win?

The Last Summer is based on the true history of St Kilda and its small island community.

‘The most exciting, enchanting story of forbidden love I’ve ever read. – Cathy Bramley

‘I loved it and can’t wait for the next in the series!’ – Jill Mansell

‘Perfect for everyone dreaming of summer’ – Rachel Hore

I’ve always been better with plants than people . . .

Eustacia Rose is a Professor of Botanical Toxicology who lives alone in London with only her extensive collection of poisonous plants for company. She tends to her garden with meticulous care. Her life is quiet. Her schedule never changes. Until the day she hears a scream and the temptation to investigate proves irresistible.

Through her telescope, Professor Rose is drawn into the life of an extraordinarily beautiful neighbour, Simone, and nicknames the men who visit her after poisonous plants according to the toxic effect they have on Simone. But who are these four men? And why does Eustacia Rose recognise one of them?

Just as she preserves her secret garden, she feels inexplicably compelled to protect her neighbour, but Eustacia soon finds herself entangled in a far more complicated web than she could ever have imagined. When her precious garden is vandalised and someone close to Simone is murdered with a toxin derived from a rare poisonous plant, Eustacia becomes implicated in the crime.

After all, no one knows toxic plants like she does . . .

Harold Raeburn was one of Scotland’s greatest ever mountaineers, with a legacy of prized lines scattered far and wide across the Highlands.

In feats of extraordinary vitality, he made winter ascents of Tower Ridge, North-East Buttress and Crowberry Gully in four days, cycling from Fort William to Glencoe in between. His breathtaking ascent of Green Gully, cutting steps up near-vertical ice with a single axe, was doubtless the hardest ice climb anywhere at the time and was unsurpassed in difficulty in Scotland for nearly three decades. But perhaps Raeburn’s finest achievement was the first winter ascent in 1920 of Observatory Ridge, which remains one of Ben Nevis’s longest and most serious winter climbs. These routes, amongst so many others, were visionary, while beyond Scotland, he pioneered climbs in the Alps, Norway and the Caucasus, attempted Kangchenjunga and was Climbing Leader on the calamitous 1921 British Mount Everest Reconnaissance Expedition. Tragically, the latter was to be his undoing, precipitating a ‘melancholia’ that had perhaps, to some degree, dogged him all his life.

With extracts from Raeburn’s own elegant writings and accounts from his friends and climbing companions, The Steps of a Giant is an intimate portrait of a master craftsman, chronicling his outstanding mountaineering record while digging beneath the surface of his modest reserve to reveal a complex, driven character upon whose shoulders subsequent generations of climbing luminaries stand.