THE BEST OF SCOTTISH BOOKS

Fayne, a vast moated castle, lies to the misty southern border of Scotland, ruled by the Lord Henry Bell, Seventeenth Baron of the DC de Fayne, Peer of Her Majesty’s Realm of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The mysterious Lord Bell keeps to his rooms by day, appearing briefly at night to dote over his beloved and peculiarly gifted child. But even with all her gifts – intelligence, wit and strength of character – can Charlotte overcome the violently strict boundaries of contemporary society and establish her own place in the world?

The Cat Prince & Other Poems is the third collection from prize-winning poet, and author of Boy Friends, Michael Pedersen.

All moggy moxie, Pedersen croons to the beauty and devastation of love, loss, friendship, cats and careless joy. Equal parts tender and trenchant, raw and ribald, plangent and smutty, these poems exhibit an emotionally charged, fantastical playground of language and lore.

From the brutalising death of a cherished friend comes a gut-wrenching grief. And so begins a tenacious quest for light, lustre and survival as Pedersen pays tender tribute to a gorgeous, life-altering friendship. In doing so, he harks back to the hilarity of being young, reckless and petrified: memories of boys showboating in a fishing tackle shop, games of feline metamorphosis, laments for demolished buildings and a case of constipation of the most pernicious stock.

As frisky as it is fierce, The Cat Prince pounces around the poet’s emotional and physical landscapes, past and present, unfankling a Scotland full of gothic splendour and nature’s majesty.

These poems reveal a poet at his bravest and most vulnerable. The Cat Prince & Other Poems purrs with affection, flashes its teeth, then digs in the claws.

This prose and poetry tour de force of storytelling has the narrative punch of a novel. It is a new departure for the poet, and for poetry itself. It takes the reader into the not-too-distant future: an artificial intelligence rules the world, and a working-class family use their wits to live off the land. William Letford blends prose and his inimitable poetry: sci-fi and hunter-gatherer are merged into a coherent story in the pages of a stonemason’s journal. ‘You won’t see the best of a Macallum until you put something in their fist,’ says Letford, introducing the family. ‘Joiner, nurse, stonemason, hairdresser, plumber, gardener. Lorna even repairs vintage watches. That’s the quantum mechanics of manual labour.’ We join the Macallum family as they combine their skills to reconnect with the land in a world where the empowered are hell-bent on creating a new utopia. Joe, the stonemason, records in his journal the struggles and successes of a carnival of characters. They hurl grace and humour at a future that is being shaped by a single, powerful entity. Letford’s storytelling is gritty and beautiful. ‘A Macallum, it seems to me now, is made to move, to think on the run. The sofas in our houses were sinkholes. The actors on a fifty-two-inch flat screen – shadows on a cave wall.’

Magnaccioni: (Roman dialect) people who live to eat well.

I know no other word that captures that rare gift, that supremely basic human quality of eating with mind, eyes and heart and radiating uncontainable pleasure in so doing.

In Magnaccioni, Anne Pia wants to make you feel tempted, greedy. She celebrates her heritage, the way of life, food, wine, music and dialect of southern Italy.

Writing as a passionate food aficionada, she shares family recipes and food she has enjoyed in Italy based on la cucina povera, la cucina di terra – the use of fresh produce and simple ingredients to create sumptuous, joyful feasts. This book is a glorious and bold celebration of a very special culture and a fundamental way of looking at life and food which Anne is proud to call her own.

Wine and music are essential in the mix that is southern Italian life. Anne guides you through her own pairings to her food so that you may join her in becoming joyful magnaccioni!

Cosy pubs, vibrant restaurants, world-class galleries and everything in between, Scotland’s lively capital is full of incredible things to do, whatever the weather.

From iconic institutions to local, under-the-radar spots, Rainy Day Edinburgh is the essential guide to 100 of the best things to do in the city when it’s raining (which is a lot of the time).

Whether you’re looking for delicious places to eat, inspiring museums to mooch around or bars serving up creative cocktails, this handy book has it covered.

‘I wasn’t all in one piece last autumn. My jaw was broken and my teeth were knocked loose like peppermints, they rested on my tongue in a liquid of iron and salt.’

Esther’s dreams of a glamorous life in London are shattered when she has a serious accident which leaves her with life-changing injuries. Living in her childhood home in Orkney, she retreats into a silent world until Marcus, a musician down on his luck, comes to stay on the island and reaches out to her through his music.

Described in rich, subtle detail—town, land and sea—in sharply observed and lyrical excitement, Esther’s inner voice—tough, desperate, cutting, hilariously sarcastic, witheringly dry, suddenly tender—explores what it means to have one’s dreams shattered and the impact that facial scarring has on identity.

Tiffani Angus (Ph.D.) and Val Nolan (Ph.D.) met at the 2009 Clarion Writers’ Workshop in California and since then have collaborated many times as fans and scholars on panels for SFF conventions and writing retreats.

Working together on this book and combining their experience as SFF writers and as university lecturers in Creative Writing and Literature made perfect sense!

Every year they see new students who want to write SFF/Horror but have never tried the genres, have tried but found themselves floundering, or, worse, have been discouraged by those who tell them Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror are somehow not “real” literature.

This book is for all those future Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror writers. Tiffani and Val are approaching these three exciting fields by breaking them down into bite-sized subgenres with a fun, open, and contemporary approach.

Each chapter contains 10 subgenres or tropes, with a quick and nerdy history of each derived from classroom teaching practices, along with a list of potential pitfalls, a description of why it’s fun to write in these subgenres, as well as activities for new writers to try out and to get them started!

Katie Donald is learning the ropes at the Perfect Passion Company, which provides help to the lovelorn citizens of Edinburgh. Katie is assisted in her matchmaking endeavors by William Kidd, a talented knitwear designer in the office next door with a sympathetic ear, a playful interest in the business of matchmaking and a long-distance fiancée in his native Melbourne.

George Fane, a thirtysomething hotelier tied to his family business and an overbearing mother, arrives one day asking for Katie’s assistance in finding a romantic partner – and for a little distance from his mother to boot. As Katie searches for the right match for George, she discovers there is more than one way of looking at the Fane family’s story and that the work of the Perfect Passion Company may have to be a little broader in its scope than she had previously thought.

Meanwhile, the Perfect Passion Company’s original owner, Katie’s cousin Ness, is away in Canada surrounded by pristine forest in a small lakeside town full of intriguing neighbours. As Ness did before her, Katie must learn the principles of romantic chemistry with the very simpatico William at her side. This is the job after all – bringing great happiness to people. And as she labors, she just might discover something about her own compatibility and future happiness.

Alexander McCall Smith’s second volume in The Perfect Passion Company series, A Labourer in the Vineyard of Love, casts new light on the psychology of family relationships, the desire for friendship and romance, and the thrill of possibility when two people meet at just the right time in life.

‘Immersive from the start and satisfying to the finish, a faultless tale from one of our best writers of historical crime fiction’ JESS KIDD

In the darkness, her face glimmered like polished bone, white, but with a bluish tinge. Her lips were dry and cracked. I saw them move; a black tongue pass over them as if she was trying to speak, but she made no sound.

A plague is coming to London. Dreaded more than the Devil himself, cholera – the ‘blue death’ – spares no one. As fear grows across the city, Jem Flockhart and Will Quartermain are called to the bedside of a dead man, murdered, and with his throat torn out, in the back room of a brothel. When an innocent man is taken to Newgate, Jem and Will have until execution day to save him. The search for the identity of the corpse, and the killer, takes them to the gates of Blackwater Hall, home to the secretive, and corrupt Mortmain family. With the approach of autumn, no one is safe, for the fog brings with it an evil and poisonous sickness – the perfect shroud for murder.

When family secrets are prised out into the open, people begin dying. But who, or what, is the cause? Searching for answers, Jem and Will are driven underground, to the passages and tunnels beneath the city’s teeming streets. Here, their adversary proves to be more elusive, and more deadly, than ever.

PRAISE FOR UNDER GROUND

‘From the outset every image, every metaphor and simile reflects the central themes of corruption and disease, poverty and decadence. The plot is complex and substantial and the final denouement has a feeling of perfect inevitability’ ALIS HAWKINS

‘I LOVED it. Fantastic characters – I never guessed! So good … Under Ground is brilliantly steeped in the lore of Victorian London, I couldn’t take my eyes off it!’ SARA SHERIDAN

PRAISE FOR E.S.THOMSON

‘Another gripping page-turner, add Nightshade to your reading list now.’ Edinburgh Evening News

‘Vivid, pungent and perilous’ CHRIS BROOKMYRE on Beloved Poison

‘Evocative…brilliant plotting’ REBECCA GRIFFITHS on Beloved Poison

‘A dark gripping atmospheric thriller’ Dundee Courier on Nightshade

‘Superb’ Sunday Express

‘Gothic. Gory. Glorious . . . E. S. Thompson’s Jem Flockhart books are the best I’ve read in years. Jem is just my kind of heroine: scarred, smart, complex, and unapologetically queer’ Kirsty Logan, author of The Gloaming

‘Love evocative descriptions of Victorian London and brilliant plotting? Then grab a copy of this!’ Rebecca Griffiths, author of The Primrose Path

‘Complex, harrowing and highly enjoyable’ Daily Express

‘A marvellous, vivid book’ Janet Ellis

‘Jem Flockhart is a marvel . . . This vivid journey into the dark side of the human soul is a thoroughly engrossing tale’ Mary Paulson Ellis, author of The Other Mrs Walker

Unknown in Scotland upon his arrival and unheralded in the English game, Ange Postecoglou revels in his status as an outside agitator. After transforming a Celtic team in turmoil into serial winners, sweeping up five trophies over the course of two spectacular seasons, his appointment by Tottenham Hotspur made him the first Australian manager to take charge of a Premier League club.

Revolution charts the dramatic story of Postecoglou’s instant impact on British football with Celtic and explores his life and times in the sport, through the eyes of those who know him best. Could a track record in Australian, Japanese and Scottish football transfer to the unique landscape of the English game? Would a man without a playing track record in Europe command the respect of a dressing room packed with international stars?

Examining the traits that set him apart from his playing peers and the coaching education that has prepared him for his biggest challenge, Revolution provides an insight into the making of a man and the unique football philosophy that has reinvigorated teams and transformed playing styles at a succession of clubs across the globe.

Great Scottish Walks by Helen and Paul Webster, founders of Walkhighlands, is a comprehensive guide to the 26 best long-distance hiking trails in Scotland.

Whether you’re keen to experience classic trails such as the West Highland Way, discover more accessible trails like the Forth & Clyde Union Canal Towpath in the Central Belt or yearn for the remote wilderness of walks like the Cape Wrath Trail and Skye Trail, this book offers inspiration for long-distance walkers of all experience levels who want to challenge themselves on Scotland’s greatest trails (and even those who wish to tackle the trails as day walks or in shorter sections).

The walks are illustrated with stunning photography, showcasing the incredibly varied Scottish mainland and island landscapes that you can discover, from the remote mountains and glens, coastal sea stacks and beaches, to the lush farmland and canals of the lowlands. There are countless towns, villages and historical sites that you’ll want to stop and visit along the way, rich in Scotland’s heritage and culture. This book provides everything you need to inspire you to explore further, including an overview of what to expect from each route, logistical information about tackling the routes over a number of days, overview mapping, and practical information about access, public transport, accommodation and local amenities.

With Great Scottish Walks, let Helen and Paul equip you to take on your own long-distance adventure and discover the amazing trails that Scotland has to offer.

Great Scottish Walks by Helen and Paul Webster, founders of Walkhighlands, is a comprehensive guide to the 26 best long-distance hiking trails in Scotland.

Whether you’re keen to experience classic trails such as the West Highland Way, discover more accessible trails like the Forth & Clyde Union Canal Towpath in the Central Belt or yearn for the remote wilderness of walks like the Cape Wrath Trail and Skye Trail, this book offers inspiration for long-distance walkers of all experience levels who want to challenge themselves on Scotland’s greatest trails (and even those who wish to tackle the trails as day walks or in shorter sections).

The walks are illustrated with stunning photography, showcasing the incredibly varied Scottish mainland and island landscapes that you can discover, from the remote mountains and glens, coastal sea stacks and beaches, to the lush farmland and canals of the lowlands. There are countless towns, villages and historical sites that you’ll want to stop and visit along the way, rich in Scotland’s heritage and culture. This book provides everything you need to inspire you to explore further, including an overview of what to expect from each route, logistical information about tackling the routes over a number of days, overview mapping, and practical information about access, public transport, accommodation and local amenities.

With Great Scottish Walks, let Helen and Paul equip you to take on your own long-distance adventure and discover the amazing trails that Scotland has to offer.

One of the last criminal trials using the 1735 Witchcraft Act was, improbably, in London in 1944. The accused was Helen Duncan, a middle-aged Scotswoman. This is her extraordinary story.

Helen Duncan – known since childhood as ‘Hellish Nell’, for her uncontainable nature – was one of the most popular mediums of the twentieth century, holding seances around the country where she was believed to manifest the spirits of the dead.

What happens when we die? It was the question of the age for a generation which had endured one world war and now was living through another. Mrs Duncan’s seances offered an answer. But when she started foretelling naval disasters, she also attracted the unwelcome attention of the secret service. And so just weeks before the Normandy landings, absurdly, anachronistically, she was prosecuted for witchcraft and jailed. Was Nell a conjurer, a martyr or a security risk?

Hellish Nell was first published in 2001 to widespread acclaim. It remains in this revised edition a fascinating window into the unsettled spiritual and psychological mood of the times: a sensational tale of spectacle, credulity and cruelty, and of Britain’s last witch.

A drag queen becomes obsessed with her mysterious young rival who might be an occultist, or a murderer . . . or the greatest star of all

‘If Sontag’s notion of camp became a religion this would be a seminal text. A glorious exploration of the borderlands of identity, gender and lippy.’ Denise Mina

Luci LaBang is a star: for decades this flamboyant drag artist has cast a spell over screen and stage. Now she’s the leading lady in a smash hit pantomime.

When Luci’s co-star meets with a mysterious accident, a new ingenue shimmers onto the scene, and Luci is immediately smitten with the fantastically beautiful Luda and her sinister charm. Luda begs Luci to share the secrets of her stardom and to reveal the hidden tricks of her trade. For Luci LaBang is a mistress of the Glamour, an arcane discipline that draws on sex, drugs, and the occult for its trancelike, transformative effects. But as Luci tutors her young protégée, their fellow actors and crew members begin meeting with untimely ends. Now Luci wonders if Luda has mastered the Glamour all too well.

What follows is an intoxicating descent into the demimonde of Gasglow, a fantastical city of dreams, and into the nightmarish heart of Luda herself: a femme fatale, a phenomenon, a monster, and, perhaps, the brightest star of them all.

A drag queen becomes obsessed with her mysterious young rival who might be an occultist, or a murderer . . . or the greatest star of all?If Sontag?s notion of camp became a religion this would be a seminal text. A glorious exploration of the borderlands of identity, gender and lippy.? Denise MinaLuci LaBang is a star: for decades this flamboyant drag artist has cast a spell over screen and stage. Now she?s the leading lady in a smash hit pantomime.When Luci?s co-star meets with a mysterious accident, a new ingenue shimmers onto the scene, and Luci is immediately smitten with the fantastically beautiful Luda and her sinister charm. Luda begs Luci to share the secrets of her stardom and to reveal the hidden tricks of her trade. For Luci LaBang is a mistress of the Glamour, an arcane discipline that draws on sex, drugs, and the occult for its trancelike, transformative effects. But as Luci tutors her young protégée, their fellow actors and crew members begin meeting with untimely ends. Now Luci wonders if Luda has mastered the Glamour all too well.What follows is an intoxicating descent into the demimonde of Gasglow, a fantastical city of dreams, and into the nightmarish heart of Luda herself: a femme fatale, a phenomenon, a monster, and, perhaps, the brightest star of them all.

Con O’Neill is stuck in a world of brutal gang violence, sectarian vendettas and personal tragedy. The lack of opportunities for him and the rest of his gang is all too apparent. No money. No prospects. A social design that entraps inhabitants of Treacle Towns up and down the country.

Connor is desperate to get away, to find another life where he can experience happiness and fulfilment. When he stumbles upon the new world of slam poetry, Con senses a glimmer of hope – a hope that might just lead to his escape from Treacle Town.

But it won’t be easy.

Gripping full-cast BBC dramatisations and riveting readings of four ‘Shetland’ tales, plus a bonus short story and interviewAnn Cleeves is well known for her ‘Vera’, ‘Shetland’, and ‘Two Rivers’ crime series, all of which have been adapted into hit TV shows. She was presented with the CWA Diamond Dagger for lifetime achievement in 2017, and was appointed an OBE in the 2022 New Year Honours List for services to reading and libraries. This collection includes full-cast dramatisations of the first two ‘Shetland’ novels featuring Detective Jimmy Perez, as well as three short stories and a discussion with the bestselling author.

Raven Black – Midwinter in Shetland, and a young woman is found strangled in a snow-covered field. Suspicion falls on elderly loner Magnus Tait – but Detective Jimmy Perez has a hunch the solution is not that simple. Starring Grant O’Rourke.

White Nights – It is midsummer on the island, a time of white nights where the sun never quite leaves the sky. When a distressed stranger disrupts an art exhibition claiming amnesia, and is later found hanged, it seems a clear case of suicide. But Jimmy Perez has other ideas… Starring Steven Robertson.

‘The Soothmoothers’ – The tensions between three travellers on a business trip to Shetland spark a local woman’s interest. By dawn the next day, DI Jimmy Perez is on the scene, investigating a violent crime. Read by Marnie Baxter.’Secrets of Soil’ – Written in collaboration with forensic soil scientist Lorna Dawson, this specially-commissioned short story sees Shetland detective Willow Reeves returning to her childhood home on the Scottish island of North Uist to confront a dark secret from her past. Read by Lesley Hart.

‘The Queen of Mystery’ – Attending the Malice Domestic crime convention in Bethesda, Maryland, award-winning mystery writer Stella Monkhouse fears her star is starting to wane… Read by Joanna Tope.

Phil Williams – Ann Cleeves talks to the Radio 5 Live presenter about the inspiration for her work, and why she’s keen to encourage a national passion for reading.

Text copyright © Ann Cleeves 2006 (Raven Black), 2008 (White Nights), 2010 (‘The Soothmoothers’), 2013 (‘Secrets of Soil’), 2016 (‘The Queen of Mystery’)

All rights reserved

Raven Black

Jimmy Perez – Grant O’Rourke

Magnus – John Shedden

Fran – Rosalind Sydney

Sally – Clare Yuille

Robert – John Kielty

Duncan – Kenny Blyth

DI Taylor – Robin Laing

Euan – Greg Powrie

Annie Perez – Sandra Voe

Catherine – Melody Grove

Dramatised by Iain Finlay MacLeod

Produced and directed by Kirsteen Cameron

White Nights

DI Jimmy Perez – Steven Robertson

Kenny – Finlay Welsh

Edith – Anne Lacey

Bella – Eileen McCallum

Fran – Tracy Wiles

DI Taylor – Robin Laing

Peter – Steven McNicoll

Roddy – Finn den Hertog

Dramatised by Iain Finlay MacLeod

Produced by Kirsteen Cameron

‘The Soothmoothers’

Read by Marnie Baxter

Produced by Kirsteen Cameron

‘Secrets of Soil’

Read by Lesley Hart

Produced by Allegra McIlroy

‘The Queen of Mystery’

Read by Joanna Tope

Produced by Kirsteen Cameron

Phil Williams

With Phil Williams and Ann Cleeves

 

© 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

One of the last criminal trials using the 1735 Witchcraft Act was, improbably, in London in 1944. The accused was Helen Duncan, a middle-aged Scotswoman. This is her extraordinary story.Helen Duncan – known since childhood as ‘Hellish Nell’, for her uncontainable nature – was one of the most popular mediums of the twentieth century, holding seances around the country where she was believed to manifest the spirits of the dead.

What happens when we die? It was the question of the age for a generation which had endured one world war and now was living through another. Mrs Duncan’s seances offered an answer. But when she started foretelling naval disasters, she also attracted the unwelcome attention of the secret service. And so just weeks before the Normandy landings, absurdly, anachronistically, she was prosecuted for witchcraft and jailed. Was Nell a conjurer, a martyr or a security risk?

Hellish Nell was first published in 2001 to widespread acclaim. It remains in this revised edition a fascinating window into the unsettled spiritual and psychological mood of the times: a sensational tale of spectacle, credulity and cruelty, and of Britain’s last witch.

A classic ghost story illustrated by acclaimed cartoonist, Seth.

Retired officer Colonel Mortimer takes a lease on the mansion of Brentwood, the grounds of which share the ruins of an older house, including a strange, vacant doorway, but eerie events begin to unfold and Mortimer’s son falls ill. As the supernatural takes hold, Mortimer resolves to do what he must to save his son even as he ventures further into an increasingly horrifying place.

A classic ghost story illustrated by acclaimed cartoonist, Seth.

The Pole-Star’s voyage comes to a halt after becoming trapped in the arctic ice, threatening the lives of its crew. Superstition soon takes hold as the frightened men claim to hear ghosts in the darkness, but it’s the captain’s increasingly strange behaviour that concerns the doctor most.