New at NLS
Posted March 7, 2011 10:07 am by Nicola Stratton | Permalink
Items recently received by the National Library of Scotland included The witches of Pollok by Scottish author and actor Anne Downie. Anne was born in Glasgow and has worked in theatre, film and television. Anne is also the author of many plays and short stories as well as scripts for radio and television. Her novel, The witches of Pollok, is based on true events concerning allegations of witchcraft on the Pollok estate in 17th century Scotland. The witches of Pollok is published by Capercaillie Books.
Urban fox : memoirs of an Edinburgh poacher is a memoir of one man’s love of and adventures in the urban ‘countryside’. Although born in Manchester, author Bob Redwater spent much of his life in Edinburgh. This book tells the story of his hunting with dogs, fishing rods, ferrets and boomerangs within the city of Edinburgh. The book is illustrated with engravings by Skye based illustrator Kathleeen Lindsley and is published by Crowood Press.
Donald Meek’s Steamships to St Kilda : John McCallum, Martin Orme, and the life and death of an island community looks at the steamships that served St Kilda for over a century, in particular the SS Hebrides and the SS Dunara Castle. The author’s research has uncovered new material relating to the role of McCallum, Orme and Company, including photographs which are reproduced in this publication. Steamships to St Kilda is published by The Islands Book Trust.
Also published by The Islands Book Trust is Obair gun duais? Alasdair MacGilleMhìcheil a’ tional ainmean Gàidhlig eun / A thankless task? Alexander Carmichael as a collector of Gaelic bird names by Tristan ap Rheinallt. Alexander Carmichael (1832-1912) is perhaps best known for his Carmina Gadelica, a collection of Gaelic folklore, songs, prayers, hymns and poetry gathered during from the period 1855 to 1910. Alexander also collected Gaelic bird names and this book examines the extent of his success in this field, looking at the reliability of his research and whether indeed his task was a “thankless” one.