Modern Scottish Collections

Image from 'Newes from Scotland'.

A new resource looking at witches in Scottish literature is now available on the Learning Zone section of the National Library of Scotland website. The Learning Zone is a dedicated area of the NLS website where teachers and learners can find learning resources, web features, images, and collections material relating to curriculum topics.

The Witches in Scottish literature feature looks at seven sources from the collections featuring Scottish witches. The sources illustrate differing treatments of witchcraft in various genres of literature from the last 400 years. Works by James VI, Shakespeare, Burns, James Hogg, John Buchan, Edwin Morgan, and Rona Munro are discussed alongside some historical background on the fascinating history of the witch-hunts in Scotland.

If you would like to learn more why not visit the website or watch a video of Julian Goodare, Reader in History at the University of Edinburgh, talking about the historical context of witch-hunting in Scotland.

Image credit: Dell publishing.

Romantic fiction has chosen many historical settings over the years – Cornwall, Regency Bath, and the court of Mary Queen of Scots have often provided memorable settings.

“Highlander” novels are a mainstay of popular fiction today, offering up a heady mix of dramatic landscape, feuding clans, and strangely cosy castle bed chambers.

Authors – often based in North America – have created a wild Celtic world of spirited heroines and brooding warriors, drawing perhaps on memories of the ballads, Sir Walter Scott, the Brontes, old Hollywood, fantasy computer games, and Braveheart.

Perhaps it is not a Scotland we at home recognise, but it is a world which enthrals and entertains millions round the world.

We have created a small but colourful display showcasing some examples of romantic fiction set in Scotland from our collections. The display is located on the upper floor of the General Reading Room at the National Library of Scotland. On entering the Reading Room proceed straight up the stairs to the wall opposite the door and you will find the display case. The display will run until the end of April 2013.

A huge variety of books were added to the modern Scottish collections at the National Library of Scotland this week, including Arthur’s Seat: journeys and evocations by Stuart McHardy and Donald Smith. Published by Luath Press, this book is a fascinating look at the history and folklore of Edinburgh’s most distinctive natural landmark.

From one fascinating Scottish hill to another – Fraser Hunter and Kenneth Painter examine the hoard of silver discovered on East Lothian’s Traprain Law in Late Roman silver: the Traprain treasure in context. Full of wonderful photographs, this Society of Antiquaries of Scotland publication looks at the late Roman economy, society and at the use of silver in the Roman world.

Other recent additions include several children’s books in Scottish Gaelic. Spùinneadairean Dubh Na h-Oidhche is a tale of pirates by Peter Harris and Deborah Allwright, and An Coileach Cadalach by Nuala Nic Con Iomaire and Donough O’Malley is the entertaining story of a sleepy farmyard cockerel. Both books are published by Acair.

And finally, for those of you looking for a new knitting project, why not Knit your own Scotland? Jackie Holt and Ruth Bailey’s book provides patterns to allow you to knit your own Andy Murray, Billy Connolly, Scotch pie, Tunnock’s teacake and much more. Knit your own Scotland is published by Black and White.

With Christmas rapidly approaching you may be interested to hear about our small display of Christmas cards and festive catalogues from the early twentieth century.

The display contains Christmas and New Year greeting cards which were circulated in Scotland between 1910 and 1952. The cards, which are a fascinating contrast to those we send today, are from the Dewar Collection.

The display also includes a couple of beautifully illustrated Macfarlane Lang & Co Christmas catalogues dating from the 1930s. The history of this Scottish bakery is fascinating. James Lang established a bakery in Glasgow in 1817. After Lang’s death his nephew, John Macfarlane, took over the business. The company expanded throughout the nineteenth century, opening the mechanised Victoria Biscuit Works in the Calton area of Glasgow in 1880. In 1948 Macfarlane Lang merged with another Scottish biscuit manufacturer – McVitie & Price – to form United Biscuits.

The display is located on the upper floor of the General Reading Room at the National Library of Scotland. On entering the Reading Room proceed straight up the stairs to the wall opposite the door and you will find the display case. The display will run until the week beginning 7th January 2013.

Today is National Poetry Day! To celebrate, the National Library of Scotland has produced a set of web pages featuring poems from the pamphlets shortlisted for the 2012 Callum Macdonald Memorial Award. Each page includes poetry from the shortlisted pamphlet, along with biographical information about the poet.

We hope that you enjoy the quality and variety of poetry on offer at our National Poetry Day 2012 web pages. There are poems in Scots, Gaelic, and English, and the subject matter covers a variety of topics, from Hadrian’s Wall to the Museum of Anatomy at the University of Glasgow. Thank you to the poets and publishers who allowed us to use their work.

If you would like to read poetry from other years, please take a look at our previous National Poetry Day web pages.

You can find out more about the Callum Macdonald Memorial Award at the Scottish Pamphlet Poetry website and more about National Poetry Day at the official website.

BBC Alba is currently showing the fondly remembered 1960s television version of Dr Finlay’s Casebook based on the short stories of Scotland’s best-selling author of yesteryear – A.J. Cronin, 1896-1981.

Cronin may not be a household name today but from his sensational debut with Hatter’s Castle in 1931 he was prized as a master story teller, with huge international sales. He drew on his experience of small-town Scottish life, including his family dramas and religious intolerance, and his early work as a doctor. Success meant he became a full-time writer by the time he was 35.

Inevitably Cronin’s highly dramatic novels like The Citadel , The Stars Look Down, and The Keys of the Kingdom were snapped up by film studios on both sides of the Atlantic. Most of his big titles made it to the screen in major productions starring, amongst others, Robert Donat, Carole Lombard, Michael Redgrave, Margaret Lockwood, Gregory Peck, and Dirk Bogarde.

Film versions of two of Cronin’s “Scottish” novels Hatter’s Castle and The Green Years feature in our current exhibition Going to the Pictures: Scotland at the Cinema. Deborah Kerr and James Mason shine from the original poster for Hatter’s Castle and there’s a US Forces edition of The Green Years, with an original leaflet promoting MGM’s film version which featured Tom Drake, the “boy next door” from Meet Me in St Louis, as … the boy next door in Victorian Scotland, who also wants to be a doctor.

Earlier in the week I had the great honour to show Peter Jewell round our current exhibition Going to the Pictures: Scotland at the Cinema.

Peter Jewell built up the fabulous cinema collection at the Bill Douglas Centre for the History of Cinema and Popular Culture at the University of Exeter with the late great Scottish film director Bill Douglas.

It was fascinating to go round the displays with a real expert on the history of cinema, and also to listen to his personal anecdotes of
Bill Douglas, the boy from Newcraighall – the mining village near Edinburgh – who grew up to be a filmmaker and left a slim but immortal legacy on screen.

In the exhibition we show iconic clips from the Bill Douglas Trilogy and copies of pages from the script and storyboard.

Scottish audiences are getting ready for the unveiling of the latest Scottish heroine when the much anticipated Brave opens in cinemas across the country. For a few weeks now there has been no escape from images of the gallus wee lassie with the red curls, her bow, and her kenspeckle family.

When we were working on the summer exhibition Going to the Pictures: Scotland at the Cinema we had to ensure that we included Brave in advance of its premiere. For a brief wonderful moment we thought we were going to get a life-size figure of the bonnie wee princess – but settled for a “teaser” poster and the only one of the official books available in early June.

We already had however, at least one other independent curly-headed lassie in the exhibition, from another era altogether. In 1917 Mary Pickford – then the biggest female star in the world – took the title role in The Pride of the Clan. Here “Little Mary” plays Marget MacTavish, the leader of her community on a remote Scottish island. She’s a feisty wee thing who whips them all into shape –literally – and who wears the full tartan rigout, and sports a head of golden curls. This was Mary’s trademark till she bobbed them in the 1920s and caused a sensation.

Nearly a century has passed since audiences all round the world saw their favourite in her Scottish guise as Marget MacTavish, and here we are welcoming another Scottish heroine, just as wee, just as independent, and just as blessed in the hair department – Princess Merida in Brave.

This week saw the addition of another huge variety of material to the modern Scottish collections at the National Library of Scotland. One title of interest was Jamieson’s Dictionary of Scots: the story of the first historical dictionary of the Scots language by Susan Rennie. Published by Oxford University Press this is the first full account of the creation of John Jamieson’s Etymological dictionary of the Scottish language, which was published in 1808 as the first complete Scots dictionary. Susan Rennie discusses the methods used by Jamieson, as well as the contributions of others, such as Sir Walter Scott, to his work.

Tony Hogan bought me an ice-cream float before he stole my ma by Kerry Hudson tells the story of Janie Ryan’s childhood as part of a dysfunctional family living in an Aberdeen council estate during the 1980s. This is the first novel by Scottish author Kerry Hudson, who was born and brought up in Aberdeen. Tony Hogan … is published by Chatto & Windus.

The Edinburgh companion to Scottish women’s writing edited by Glenda Norquay is the latest title in the Edinburgh companions to Scottish literature series published by Edinburgh University Press. This work examines the important contributions of authors such as Margaret Oliphant, Naomi Mitchison, Isabella Bird and Denise Mina in historical context. Other areas discussed include oral traditions, nationalism, women in Gaelic culture and the act of reading.

With the Olympics almost upon us, the Guide to Scotland’s London 2012 cultural programme, published by Creative Scotland lists Olympic related events taking place in Scotland during 2012.

Maighread Challan won the 2011 Donald Meek Award with Air bilean an t-Sluaigh: sealladh air leantalachd beul-aithris Ghàidhlig Uibhist a Tuath, published by Queen’s University Belfast. Written in Scottish Gaelic, this work examines the oral tradition of North Uist in social and cultural context, looking at reasons for its decline and investigating to what extent the tradition continues. Further information is available on the Gaelic Books Council website.

One of the great things about working on our summer exhibition Going to the Pictures: Scotland at the cinema was the chance to look again at some of the classic films set in Scotland – as well as to pick the best clips!

In a wet Scottish summer it seems appropriate to take another look at the Michael Powell-Emeric Pressburger 1945 favourite – I know where I’m going! For those of you not yet familiar with this magical Celtic romance the film tells the story of Wendy Hiller’s trip to the west coast of Scotland to marry a millionaire. The weather intervenes, she is stranded on Mull, and finds a husband right enough, but not the one she is expecting.

Much admired by film-makers Martin Scorsese and Mark Cousins, I know where I’m going! is the sort of film that inspires love and devotion – and pilgrims to Tobermory and other Mull locations. We have a short clip from the film in our exhibition – the scene where Wendy Hiller is introduced to the eccentric household of the lady laird on Mull, complete with eagle and wolfhounds- as well as the 1946 “film of the book”.

Audiences in Glasgow have the chance to take the trip to the islands this week where I know where I’m going! is showing at the Glasgow Film Theatre on Thursday 12 July. GFT has got a wonderful clip on their website- five minutes long!