WITH Christmas approaching, it’s a perfect time to support Scottish bookshops by picking up one of these cracking offerings as a gift for a loved one – or for yourself!
We asked Rebecca Wall of Night Owl and Adam Barclay of Argonaut Books for some of their top picks.
REBECCA WALL’S RECOMMENDATIONS
The Bookseller of Inverness, by S.G. MacLean
This gripping historical thriller has been a firm favourite with readers at Night Owl Books. Set in the wake of the Battle of Culloden, it follows protagonist Iain MacGillivray, who only survives the battlefield by pretending to be dead. Six years later, he is living a quiet life as a bookseller in Inverness, a peaceable existence that is rudely interrupted when he opens his shop one morning to discover the body of a stranger lying with his throat cut, and the murder weapon lying nearby: a sword decorated with a Jacobite emblem. MacGillivray soon finds himself drawn into a web of deceit, and a series of old scores to be settled in the aftermath of war.
The Fair Botanists, by Sara Sheridan
Set in Edinburgh during the summer of 1822, The Fair Botanists is another of our best-selling titles at Night Owl. It follows the blossoming friendship between newcomer Elizabeth, a recently widowed artist who moves to the city from London, and Belle Brodie, a vivacious young woman with a passion for botany and the lucrative, dark art of perfume creation. As the city prepares both for a visit from the monarch, King George IV, and the rare flowering of the exotic Agave Americana in the Botanic Garden, both women discover that the secrets they are carrying can’t be kept hidden for long in the Enlightenment city.
Hex, by Jenni Fagan
Part of the Darkland Tales series, in which contemporary writers re-imagine key moments from Scotland’s history, Hex tackles the North Berwick Witch Trials. On December 4, 1591, Geillis Duncan lies in a prison cell in Edinburgh, awaiting her execution the following day. On this, the last night of her life, she receives a visitor, Iris, who claims to be from the future. As the hours pass and dawn approaches, Geillis recounts the circumstances of her arrest, torture, confession, and trial, while Iris offers support, solace – and the tantalising prospect of escape.
The Marriage Portrait, by Maggie O’Farrell
A personal favourite from 2022 is The Marriage Portrait, by Edinburgh-based author Maggie O’Farrell. Set in the renaissance courts of Florence and Ferrara, The Marriage Portrait is inspired by Robert Browning’s poem My Last Duchess, telling the story of Lucrezia de’ Medici, daughter of the Duke of Tuscany. At the beginning of the novel, the reader is told that the real-life Lucrezia was married to Alfonso, Duke of Ferrara at the age of 15, and died a year later, but throughout it O’Farrell maintains a level of suspense that kept me reading until the early hours of the morning!
Hare House, by Sally Hinchcliffe
Set in Dumfries and Galloway, Hare House is a chilling gothic read that follows a woman as she moves from London to a remote cottage on the estate of Hare House. Seeking solace after leaving her job at an all-girls school in mysterious circumstances, our narrator explores the woods and moorlands that surround her new home, and strikes up a friendship with her new landlord and his teenage sister. Soon, however, she discovers that all is not as it seems, as she discovers local tales of witchcraft, sinister clay figures, and young men sent mad. When heavy snowfall traps the inhabitants of the estate, cutting them off from the outside world, tensions rise to fever pitch.
The Frost Goblin, by Abi Elphinstone, illustrated by Fiona Woodcock
The Frost Goblin is a stunning new children’s book from East Lothian-based author Abi Elphinstone, and is perfect for chilly winter nights and cosy Christmas mornings. It tells the story of Bertie Crash-Wallop, who sometimes feels like there’s no place for a quiet boy like him in his noisy family. But when Bertie meets a family of goblins on the night of the deepest frost, he embarks on an exciting, magic-filled adventure that will help him to find his own place in the world. For readers aged seven plus.
Tyninghame: Landscape and Lives, by Judy Riley
Our best-selling title in Scottish history this year has been Tyninghame, a thoroughly researched and accessibly written book by Judy Riley. Riley follows the history of this beautiful place in East Lothian through the ages, from its time as an important monastic site and burial place of St. Baldred, and later a bishop’s palace, to the eighteenth century and beyond, uncovering the important role played by a young woman, Lady Helen Hope, in transforming its landscape.
The Wilderness Cure, by Mo Wilde
In the midst of the pandemic, West Lothian-based Mo Wilde made a quiet but radical pledge: to live only off free, foraged food for an entire year. This fascinating book charts her journey through the months that followed, as she uses her expert knowledge to find nutritious food from hundreds of species of plants, fungi, and seaweed to not only survive, but thrive. As she adjusts to her new way of living, Wilde also meditates on our connection with food and nature through the ages.
The Last Days, by Ali Millar
This riveting memoir from Ali Millar recounts her experience of growing up in the Scottish Borders in the 80s as a Jehovah’s Witness. Convinced by its teachings that Armageddon is coming, and that only the faithful will survive, Millar is tormented by the fear of the world ending. Yet, as she grows older, she slowly begins to question the ways of the Witnesses, and their control over the most intimate aspects of her life. This important book poses a universal question: is it possible to escape the life you are born into?
ADAM BARCLAY’S RECOMMENDATIONS
Deep Wheel Orcadia, by Harry Josephine Giles
An unbelievable achievement. For the first time ever, a sci-fi epic entirely written in the Orkney tongue. A verse-novel set on a fading space station, a passionate and lyrical exploration of place, belonging, gender, and generational memory. Recent winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award for outstanding science fiction.
The Long Knives, by Irvine Welsh
Our own hometown hero, Argonaut Books is located in the building from which ‘Trainspotting’ draws it’s name. Welsh has been a literary hero for us for many years and there can be no doubt that this is still an author at the height of his powers. Thirteen years after Crime was released, Ray Lennox returns to investigate the brutal murder of a brutal man in a Leith warehouse. Sharp, grim, and a captivating read.
The Two Headed Whale, by Sandy Winterbottom
In 2016, Sandy Winterbottom embarked on a six-week voyage from Uruguay to Antarctica. However, during a scheduled stopover in South Georgia, Sandy discovers Leith Harbour, a remnant of 20th century industrial whaling. Upon finding the grave of an 18-year-old whaler from Edinburgh Sandy vows to tell his story and uncover the grim history of Scottish whaling in dual narrative which interrogates colonialism, capitalism and our relationship to the natural world.
Daisy on the Outer Line, by Ross Sayers
“Life isnae a fulm. It’s barely even a story. Thur’s nae such hing as gid guys and bad guys, thur’s jist...guys.” When Daisy trashes her stepdad’s funeral and falls asleep drunk on the Glasgow subway, she doesn’t expect to wake up in the past. In order to make amends for what she’s done, she must save a life. But who? And where to begin? Dark humour and heartfelt storytelling abounds. Awarded the first of the Scots Language Publication grants, Ross Sayers’ might be one of the funniest and most interesting authors writing in Scotland today.
The Stone of Destiny, by Caroline Logan
The first book in The Four Treasures saga. Three unlikely heroes: a changeling, a selkie and a prince, are brought together by the hunt for an ancient relic. Set against a backdrop of Scottish myth and fable, a quest to thwart the Faerie Queen and escape the sinister shadows of the forest. This is a masterfully crafted series and a story that engages readers of all ages. Swashbuckling adventure for big imaginations.
The Queen of the Birds, by Karine Polwart
In the wake of a terrible storm, the Kingdom of Birds is in search of a leader. Who will win? The bird with the brightest plumage? The loveliest song? The fastest in the air (or water)? Curlews, cuckoos, flamingos, the eagles, and even Wee Jenny Wren. There can only
be one winner so let the contest begin! Bright, colourful illustrations paired with a read, sing and shout along story.
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