Modern Scottish Collections

A good variety of new Scottish interest items was received by the National Library of Scotland last week, including A sickness in the family, a graphic novel by Scottish writer Denise Mina. Denise was born in Glasgow and wrote her first novel whilst studying for a PhD at Strathclyde University. As well as novels and graphic novels, Denise writes plays, short stories and scripts for television and radio. A sickness in the family is published by Vertigo Crime and features artwork by Antonio Fuso. You can find references to more items by Denise on Scottish Bibliographies Online.

Doocots are amongst the oldest agricultural buildings in Scotland, historically acting as shelters for doves farmed mainly for their flesh. The doocots of the East Lothian region are meticulously researched and recorded in Doocots of Scotland: East Lothian by Munro Dunn and David Elder. Published by The Scottish Vernacular Buildings Working Group, this volume describes the history, design and construction of the East Lothian doocots and is illustrated with photographs and line drawings. You can find more references to articles, books and chapters about doocots on Scottish Bibliographies Online.

Catherine Brown investigates the history of Scottish cooking in Broths to bannocks: cooking in Scotland 1690 to the present day, published by Waverley Books. This book contains over 650 traditional Scottish recipes from different regions of Scotland as well as an interesting discussion of the historical background and evolution of these recipes over the last 320 years. There are many books, articles and chapters about Scottish cookery referenced on Scottish Bibliographies Online.

Scottish shorts, edited by Philip Howard and published by Nick Hern Books contains a selection of nine short Scottish plays. Featured playwrights include Davey Anderson, Catherine Czerkawska, Stanley Eveling, David Grieg, David Harrower, Douglas Maxwell, Rona Munro, Morna Pearson and Louise Welsh. You can find out more about major Scottish plays at our 12 Key Scottish Plays web feature.

Dougie’s war, a graphic novel about a Scottish soldier’s struggle to return to civilian life after his experiences in Afghanistan was amongst the items received by the National Library of Scotland this week. Dougie’s war, published by Freight was written by Rodge Glass and features artwork by Dave Turbitt. You can find out more about the book, the author and the artist at the Dougie’s war website.

The illustrated editions of Sir Walter Scott’s Waverley novels are the subject of Picturing Scott through the Waverley novels : Walter Scott and the origins of the Victorian illustrated novel by Richard J. Hill and published by Ashgate. This volume looks at Scott’s involvement in the process of selecting illustrations to accompany the Waverley novels and considers his dealings with 19th century Scottish artists such as William Allan and Alexander Nasmyth, as well as the broader development of the illustrated novel. The analysis is supplemented by a catalogue of all the illustrations that Scott authorised for publication in his work.

Whiter than white by Perthshire based author Linda Cracknell is a short story set on the Isle of Rum in 1913 and published in pocket book format by the author’s own imprint, Best Foot Books. In addition to short stories, Linda also writes radio drama and non-fiction.

Strongholds of the Picts : the fortifications of Dark Age Scotland by Angus Konstam and published by Osprey examines the origins and developments of Pictish forts and the importance of these sites beyond their immediate defensive role. You can find more references to items about Picts on Scottish Bibliographies Online.

A good selection of Scottish material was received by the National Library of Scotland this week including Aberfeldy: the history of a Highland community by Ruary Mackenzie Dodds. In this illustrated volume, Ruary traces the history of Aberfeldy and the surrounding area from pre-history to the present day, covering subjects from politics to farming and other aspects of life in the district.

Also received this week was the first volume of Seven soldiers of victory by Scottish comic book writer Grant Morrison. Grant has been responsible for several highly successful graphic novels published by DC Comics, including The invisibles and JLA.

Another new addition was Muriel Spark: twenty-first-century perspectives edited by David Herman. This volume is an updated and expanded version of an earlier collection, containing three new essays on Muriel Spark and her contribution to literature. The Muriel Spark Archive, which contains an extensive collection of the author’s diaries, personal papers, photographs and correspondence, is held by the National Library of Scotland.

Also new in this week was The soldier’s return by Robert Tannahill, with an introductory essay by Jim Ferguson. Robert Tannahill (1774-1810), known as the “weaver poet”, was born in Paisley and was a contemporary of Robert Burns.

This week saw another varied intake of new Scottish interest items, including Borders based Elisabeth McNeill’s new historical romance The heartbreaker, a retelling of the story of Bonnie Prince Charlie and Flora Macdonald.

Also new in this week was the Butterfly atlas of the Scottish Borders by Jon Mercer, Richard Buckland, Paul Kirkland and Jeff Waddell. This beautifully illustrated guide provides information on the habitat, distribution, lifecycle and population trends of butterflies found in the Borders area.

Scots abroad were also represented in this week’s intake by Billy Kay’s The Scottish world : a journey into the Scottish Diaspora. The author follows in the footsteps of well known (and lesser known) Scots in their journeys around the world, often uncovering surprising areas of Scottish influence.

Several items relating to Scottish football clubs, particularly Celtic, were also received this week. These included The inner sanctum : the secrets behind Celtic’s 1997-98 title win by Mark Guidi and The zen of Naka : the journey of a Japanese genius by Martin Greig – a biography of Shunsuke Nakamura (who played for Celtic from 2005 to 2009). Also received was the second edition of The Celtic story : the will to win by Allan Canning, Tommy Canning and Patrick Canning, which depicts the history of Celtic Football Club in graphic novel form.

Recent additions to the collections of the National Library of Scotland include George Mackay Brown and the philosophy of community by Timothy C. Baker. This new work analyses Brown’s writings, including some previously unpublished, from a philosophical perspective and traces the development of Brown’s writing alongside developments in the study of community.

Also recently received was Strathcarnage the debut novel from Scottish writer Matt Hamilton, concerning the strange and humorous tales of the lost village of Strathcarnage.

A further recent addition to the collections was JLA : the deluxe edition, volume 2 by Scottish author Grant Morrison. This volume in the Justice League America series features well known superheroes, including Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, battling against the evil forces of Lex Luthor. There are a fair number of Scots active in the graphic novels scene, including Grant Morrison, Mark Millar and Alan Grant. You can view the graphic novels that have been added to Scottish Bibliographies Online by doing a subject search for ‘graphic novels’ in SBO.

On a completely different note, another recent addition to the collections was The path to devolution and change: a political history of Scotland under Margaret Thatcher by David Stewart. This study examines the impact of Margaret Thatcher’s government on Scotland, paying particular attention to the economy, welfare state, local government, trade unions and the Union.