The National has compiled a list of five of the best books set in Scotland. Featured are books old and new, classic and contemporary, as well as a mix of lengths, genres, and voices to appeal to every kind of reader.

Whether you’re looking for a thoughtful gift for someone you love or to tuck in for the night with a novel of your own, there’s something here for everyone.

O Caledonia (1991) - Elspeth Barker

O Caledonia is a vivid, atmospheric and rich novel offering readers a veritable feast of delights. Opening with a murder scene, 16-year-old Janet lays sprawled at the bottom of the great stone staircase of her Highland family home, Auchnasaugh. We quickly learn that Janet’s murder is neither a great surprise nor grief to anyone – only her beloved pet jackdaw mourns her presence. The rest is a strange and enchanting portrait of the 16 misunderstood years Janet got to live – coming of age in a crumbling manor, where her love of literature and language and the landscape offers her what her remote and indifferent family do not. Being journalist and writer Elspeth Barker’s only novel, it must be treasured and read slowly.

And The Land Lay Still (2010) - James Robertson

James Robertson’s epic 600 plus page novel is difficult to explain in a few sentences. It’s the story of Scotland – a meandering and sweeping portrait of the modern history of the country, told through the eyes of Scotland’s born and bred; immigrants and sleazy journalists and their politicians, the downtrodden and the well-provided for, the people that dare to dream of change and those that cling to the past. An impeccably well-researched and generous novel, this is one for any keen readers you know that are on the fence about independence.

Shuggie Bain (2020) - Douglas Stuart

This book is the story of Hugh “Shuggie” Bain’s childhood and adolescence, set amongst a smouldering, post-Thatcherite Glasgow landscape. He navigates early life with an abusive and mostly absent taxi driver father and an alcoholic mother, Agnes Bain – both a shining light and imploding black light in Shuggie’s life. This book is a commitment to the expected; it’s a tale of cycles of addiction and the fragile sanctuary of episodes of sobriety, but it’s success lies in the way it tells you a story you already know the end to – but it remains so utterly surprising, joyous, and compelling along the way. One of the best debuts you’ll ever read.

Luckenbooth (2021) - Jenni Fagan

Luckenbooth is truly unique – a strange, gothic and an addictive look into the life of a vastly different set of occupants in No 10 Luckenbooth Close. Spanning the course of a century, the book is split into three parts which each contain three stories – one for each tenement floor, in ascending order. We move forward in time from 1910, where the devil’s daughter is sold to the tenement landlord to provide a child for the couple. A tragedy ensues, leaving a lingering curse on the building that leaves its mark on future tenants in vastly different ways.

Trumpet (1998) - Jackie Kay

When renowned jazz musician Joss Moody dies of an unspecified illness, his wife and son are left to face the public’s reaction to a post-mortem discovery that this talented man was in fact, a woman. Trumpet is told through various narrative lenses of people closest to Joss; his drummer, wife, and only son – who intends to write an exposing biography in revenge of his dad’s well-kept secret. More than twenty years after publication, Trumpet remains as modern, relevant and tender today for its bold and imaginative exploration of gender identity, race, and intersectionality.

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