Birlinn New Titles Spring 2017 by Birlinn Limited

Birlinn Limited was established in 1992 by Managing Director Hugh Andrew, and is comprised of a number of imprints. Birlinn publishes both Scottish and general UK interest books, from biography to history, military history, cookery and Scottish Gaelic. The name comes from the old Norse word ‘birlinn’, meaning a long boat or small galley used especially in the Hebrides and West Highlands of Scotland in the Middle Ages. BC Books is a new children’s imprint, launched in 2015. It is designed to provide writing and illustration of the highest quality for young readers across the UK. Birlinn is dedicated to nurturing young readers and helping them discover a passion for reading that will last a lifetime. Polygon publishes literary fiction and poetry, both classic and modern, from writers such as Robin Jenkins, George Mackay Brown and the author of the No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series, Alexander McCall Smith, to music and film titles including Stuart Cosgrove's Young Soul Rebels. International writers including Jan-Philipp Sendker are also published under this imprint. Polygon was originally set up by students of Edinburgh University in the late 1960s. Arena Sport is Birlinn’s sport imprint. The sport books range from football and rugby, to golf, running and cycling. These books have an international as well as national appeal. Arena’s first titles were published in June 2013. John Donald publishes academic books.

CONTENTS NEW TITLES The Colouring Book of Edinburgh – Eilidh Muldoon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Enlightenment Edinburgh: A Guide – Sheila Szatkowski . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Landscapes in Stone – Alan McKirdy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Italian Chapel, Orkney – Donald S. Murray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Potter's Tale – Dion Alexander . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Storm in the Desert – Mark Muller Stuart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Pocket Guide to Whisky – Blair Bowman with Nikki Welch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Exploring Glasgow – Robin Ward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Finest Road in the World – Jim Miller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Islay: The Land of the Lordship – David Caldwell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Hebridean Colouring Book – Eilidh Muldoon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Eriskay Where I Was Born – Angus Edward MacInnes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27

NEW EDITIONS The Yellow on the Broom – Betsy Whyte . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Red Rowans and Wild Honey – Betsy Whyte . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jessie's Journey – Jess Smith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tales from the Tent – Jess Smith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Reivers – Alistair Moffat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Wall – Alistair Moffat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Scots: A Genetic Journey – Alistair Moffat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Britain: A Genetic Journey – Alistair Moffat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35

JOHN DONALD Voices From Scottish Librarians – Ian MacDougall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 STATIONERY Hebridean Stationery – Mairi Hedderwick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Eilidh Muldoon

MARCH 2017

The Colouring Book of Edinburgh This is a unique Scottish colouring book suitable for adults as well as children featuring 23 of the festival city’s most iconic places, including:

Eilidh Muldoon studied Art History and gained an MFA in Illustration from Edinburgh College of Art in June 2013, where she is currently Illustrator in Residence. She is also a freelance artist and illustrator whose work has appeared in prints, greetings cards and giftware.

Edinburgh Castle • Victoria Street • Grassmarket • St Giles • National Museum of Scotland • The Mound and Ramsay Gardens • Calton Hill • Old Town • Usher Hall • Balmoral Hotel • Scott Monument and Princes Street Gardens • West Register Houmse • Holyrood Palace • HMS Britannia • Ocean Terminal & Botanic Gardens • New Town • Dean Village • Arthur’s Seat • Scottish Parliament • Zoo • Greyfriars Bobby • The Shore, Leith • The Meadows

Format: 250 x 250mm pbk ISBN: 9781780274317 Price: £8.99 Extent: 48pp Illustrations: b/w throughout March 2017

Eilidh Muldoon’s illustrations are ideal for all levels of colouring – plenty of intricate detail for those who like a colouring challenge, yet simple enough for those with less patience to create beautiful colour artwork in a short time.

Also available THE COLOURING BOOK OF SCOTLAND ISBN: 9781780274058 Price: £8.99 Paperback

SALES OF OVER 5,000 COPIES

Sheila Szatkowski

APRIL 2017

Enlightenment Edinburgh A Guide During the 18th century, Edinburgh was the intellectual hub of the Western world. Adam Smith, David Hume, Dugald Stewart and Adam Ferguson delivered their diverse tomes on philosophy and political economy. Others such as James Hutton, Joseph Black, Lord Hailes, Sir John Clerk of Eldin and Robert Adam pushed ahead with new discoveries and ideas in the fields of science, medicine, law and architecture.

Sheila Szatkowski is a writer and historian based in Edinburgh. Her interest in the Scottish Enlightenment began at Edinburgh University under the tutelage of George E. Davie, philosopher and author of The Democratic Intellect. She is currently completing a biography on the life and unpublished works of John Kay (1742-1826).

If Edinburgh was the beating heart of this Scottish Enlightenment then its physical embodiment was the New Town and the great civic improvements in the old medieval city. In this informative and highly illustrated guide Sheila Szatkowski introduces the noteworthy buildings and people of 18th and early 19thcentury Edinburgh.

Format: 236 x 190mm pbk ISBN: 9781780273730 Price: ÂŁ12.99 Extent: 128pp Illustrations: Colour throughout March 2017

It is a book about people and places, clubs and conversations, and a celebration of how topography and cultural achievement came together to create the great enlightenment city that is Edinburgh. Also available CAPITAL CARICATURES ISBN: 9781841586588 Price: ÂŁ9.99 Hardback

Alan McKirdy

APRIL 2017

Landscapes in Stone The geology of the Cairngorms was created on a timeline that stretches back hundreds of millions of years. Much of the land is underlain by granite that formed deep within the Earth’s crust and ‘surfaced’ as the overlying layers of rock were stripped away by ice, wind and water.

Alan McKirdy has written many popular books on geology and related topics and has helped to promote the study of environmental geology in Scotland. Before his recent retirement he was Head of Information Management at Scottish Natural Heritage.

The bedrock is hard and, although the area has been heavily glaciated, still boasts 18 Munros, the highest of Scotland’s peaks. The area attracts climbers, walkers and assorted adventurers who want to pit themselves against some of the most challenging conditions to be found anywhere in the UK. The plants and animals of the Cairngorms need to be hardy to survive the severe winter conditions. The higher reaches of the mountains are rich in montane vegetation such as lichen-rich heath and other habitats support many rare species.

Format: 230 x 165mm pbk ISBN: 9781780273709 Price: £7.99 Extent: 48pp Illustrations: Colour throughout April 2017

ARRAN ISBN: 9781780273693 SKYE ISBN: 9781780273723

Also available SET IN STONE ISBN: 9781780271514 Price: £9.99 Paperback

EDINBURGH ISBN: 9781780273716 MULL, IONA & ARDNAMURCHAN (June 2017) ISBN: 9781780274409

Donald S. Murray

APRIL 2017

The Italian Chapel, Orkney

Donald S. Murray is an author and journalist whose poetry, prose and verse has been shortlisted for both the Saltire Award and Callum Macdonald Memorial Award. He won a Robert Louis Stevenson Fellowship in 2012 and a Jessie Kesson Fellowship in 2013. His book, The Guga Stone, was recently nominated as one of the Guardian Best Nature Books of 2013. He lives and works in Shetland.

Thousands of visitors go to the Italian Chapel in Orkney every year, witnesses to a series of remarkable acts of transformation. Its builders included a group of Italian soldiers imprisoned in this bleak and windswept part of Scotland. In the course of this, they not only played a part in changing Orkney’s way-of-life forever but also transformed a simple Nissen Hut, constructing through their labours a place-of-worship that still stands till this day a remarkable symbol of their identity and faith. The Italian Chapel, Orkney tells the story of the strength and tenacity, laughter and tears of the men who built the Chapel, showing how spirits defeated and despondent during years of exile were lifted by its creation. It does this with its own artistry and grace, using folk-tale and myth to provide a fitting counterpart to the wonder and beauty of the building that inspired it.

Format: 198 x 129mm B-pbk ISBN: 9781780274294 Price: £9.99 Extent: 240pp Illustrations: 24pp colour plates April 2017

‘A beautiful book in many ways’ – New Shetlander ‘The chapel now has a book that can match it in artistic merit’ – Shetland Times

Also available THE GUGA HUNTERS ISBN: 9781780273051 Price: £8.99 Paperback

Also available SY StorY ISBN: 9781780272603 Price: £12.99 Paperback

Dion Alexander The Potter's Tale

APRIL 2017

A Colonsay Life

Dion Alexander moved in 1971 to Carsaig on Mull to set up a pottery before moving to Colonsay. He set up a pottery on Colonsay through the 1970s before leaving for South Uist in 1980 to become the first manager of the Co Chomunn at Lochdair. In 1983 he moved to Glengarry and began work for Shelter Scotland where he set up the Lochaber Housing Association. He has continued to specialise in that area and has both written a number of high profile reports and has chaired a large number of committees and action groups on housing and fuel poverty across the Highlands. He now lives near Dornoch.

The Potter’s Tale is a story of one man’s journey of discovery and self discovery on one of the most beautiful islands on the Hebrides – Colonsay. Dion Alexander was ‘the Colonsay Potter’ through the 1970s and his own story is interwoven with that of some of the legendary characters of the islands in that period, one of the last in which Gaelic came naturally to the community. It is also the story of beginning to think about how to keep a small remote community dominated by a landed estate alive and viable in the face of modern pressures. The Colonsay of the 1970s had no electricity or affordable housing and an erratic ferry service. The book is an autobiography, a reflection of a world still close in time but in some ways very distant interwoven with much of history, tradition and folklore, and a moving account of the trials, triumphs and tribulations of a small community. Above all it is woven with a deep love of the magical place that is Colonsay.

Format: 198 x 129mm B-pbk ISBN: 9781780274737 Price: £8.99 Extent: 240pp Illustrations: 8pp b/w plates April 2017

Also available ISLAND ON THE EDGE ISBN: 9781780273495 Price: £12.99 Paperback

Mark Muller Stuart

M AY 2 0 1 7

Storm in the Desert British Invervention in Libya and the Arab Spring Mark Muller Stuart is a senior advocate who specialises in public international law, advising international bodies on humanitarian issues and conflict resolution. He is a senior mediator to the United Nations Department of Political Affairs and has conducted international missions throughout the Middle East and Africa.

In this remarkable book, Mark Muller tells the story of British intervention in Libya and the Arab Spring from a unique civil society standpoint: he was there in Benghazi two weeks after the UN No-Fly Zone Resolution was passed, meeting with Rebel leaders to discuss how Western civil society might help them stabilise the country and resolve difficult legacy issues. Muller documents how non-state mediators and organisations, journalists, artists and like-minded diplomats, such as assassinated US Ambassador Chris Stevens, explore ways to support democratic movements and promote human rights in one of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most turbulent regions. Storm in the Desert describes a dramatic story of revolution but also the murky but sometimes inspiring role successive British governments played in trying to contain conflict in the region. It gives a unique insight into the world of diplomacy and power politics and the way they impact upon ordinary human lives.

Format: 234 x 156mm hbk ISBN: 9781780274522 Price: ÂŁ30.00 Extent: 384pp Illustrations: 16pp colour plates May 2017

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M AY 2 0 1 7

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The ever-expanding world of whisky can be a daunting one, with a deluge stuck on Sauvignon? of newAre you brands, distilleries and Weary of White Zinfandel or married to literatureMr oronMrs Merlot? the subject making it Do you fancy a change of wine scene? all but impossible for the amateur whisky drinker to find their feet. Following on from the bestselling Pocket Guide to Wine, Blair Bowman provides a compact and accessible, easy-to-use guide to help budding whisky enthusiasts on their way. The Pocket Guide to Whisky explores every kind of whisky, from the well known Scottish giant Glenlivet, to the exotic Japanese Hibiki, and includes the ever-growing and hotly debated blended whiskies too!

THE POCKET GUIDE TO WHISKY

Blair Bowman is the founder of World Whisky Day, first launched in 2012 and which is now celebrated every year, on every continent (including Antarctica). He has been a whisky enthusiast since helping found Aberdeen University’s Malt Whisky Society. He currently writes for Scottish Field as their Whisky Columnist and is a contributing editor to the Cask & Still, Scotland’s newest whisky magazine.

Based on the same principle as Nikki Welch's famous WineTube Map, this book shows how different whiskies relate to each other in terms of taste. From novice to expert, it enables whisky lovers to find out more about the brands they already like and to make informed choices as they explore further. www.birlinn.co.uk conviviumwine.com

THE POCKET GUIDE TO WHISKY FEATURING THE

Monkey Shoulder

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Auchentoshan Rye Whiskey

Blair Bowman with Nikki Welch

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Find out more at: conviviumwine.com WineTubeMap @WineTubeMap

Format: 170 x 105mm A-pbk ISBN: 9781780274324 Price: £7.99 Extent: 144pp Illustrations: Colour throughout May 2017

Also available THE POCKET GUIDE TO WINE ISBN: 9781780271446 Price: £7.99 Paperback

SALES OF OVER 7,000 COPIES

Robin Ward

M AY 2 0 1 7

Exploring Glasgow Robin Ward is an architecture critic, writer and graphic designer who was born and raised in Glasgow. He studied at Glasgow School of Art and subsequently worked for the BBC in London, and in Canada, where he was architecture critic for the Vancouver Sun. He has written a number of books, including Some City Glasgow, The Spirit of Glasgow, and co-wrote Exploring Bangkok.

Glasgow is one of the most architecturally exciting cities in the world, boasting a huge variety of building styles. There are grand Victorian public buildings celebrating civic progress and pride, commercial palazzi glorifying trade and industry, glittering art galleries, a Gothic Revival university as well as tower blocks, tenements, the Art Nouveau of Charles Rennie Mackintosh and the quirky classicism of Alexander ‘Greek’ Thomson. This book illustrates and describes almost 500 buildings and structures, featured not only for their architectural excellence but also for their social and historical significance.

Format: 235 x 130mm pbk ISBN: 9781780274546 Price: £16.99 Extent: 320pp Illustrations: Colour throughout May 2017

James Miller The Finest Road in The World

M AY 2 0 1 7

Trains and stagecoaches stuck in the snow, wild storms driving sailing ships off course, traffic pile-ups on so-called ‘killer’ highways – stories abound about the horrors of travel in the Highlands and Islands, and have done for as far as the records go back.

James Miller was born in Caithness and studied zoology in Aberdeen and marine biology in Montreal. After working for the British Council he became a fulltime freelance writer. He has written a number of acclaimed books, including Scapa, The Dambuilders, The Foresters, Inverness and Swords for Hire.

Also available THE DAM BUILDERS ISBN: 9781841582252 Price: £14.99 Paperback

James Miller tells the dramatic and sometimes surprisingly humorous story of travel and transport in the Highlands. Some of the figures in the story are familiar – General George Wade, Thomas Telford and Joseph Mitchell among them – but there are a host of others too. This thought-provoking book will appeal to all who like stories of travel and transport, and are interested in how changing modes of transport have affected the ways of life in the Highlands.

Also available THE GATHERING STREAM ISBN: 9781780270951 Price: £14.99 Paperback

COVER FORTHCOMING

Format: 234 x 156mm R-pbk ISBN: 9781780274300 Price: £12.99 Extent: 320pp Illustrations: Colour throughout May 2017

Also available SCAPA ISBN: 9781843410058 Price: £9.99 Paperback

David Caldwell

M AY 2 0 1 7

Islay

Land of the Lordship

Until his retirement Dr David Caldwell was Keeper of Scotland & Europe in the National Museums of Scotland. He is the author of Islay, Jura and Colonsay: A Historical Guide (2001), which provides a gazetteer of sites and monuments to complement this book.

This is the history of Islay up to the present day with a particular focus on the people of the island. Islay was originally part of Dal Riata, the early kingdom of the Scots, but was then colonised by Scandinavian settlers in the ninth century. It was also the home of the MacDonalds, who established the Lordship of the Isles during the Medieval Period and who mounted a challenge to the Stewart dynasty for control of Scotland. It also looks at the lesser folk, especially during the time of the Campbell lairds, from the early 17th century onwards. Archaeology combined with documentary research has helped to build up a picture of how the people of Islay lived, the way the land was farmed and the development of local industries, including the distilling of whisky.

Format: 234 x 156mm R-pbk ISBN: 9781780274652 Price: £17.99 Extent: 432pp Illustrations: 24pp col. plates, maps, line illus. May 2017

'For visitors and historians and indeed all who love Islay, those who have family there, or whose ancestors once lived there, this book is a musthave' – Scots Magazine

Also available ISLAY, JURAY AND COLONSAY ISBN: 9781841589619 Price: £9.99 Paperback

Eilidh Muldoon

J U LY 2 0 1 7

The Hebridean Colouring Book The Hebrides contain some of Scotland’s most breathtaking scenery, magnificent castles, picturesque villages and towns, as well as numerous monuments and other features of interest. In this book, suitable for adults and children alike, Eilidh Muldoon presents 31 of the most iconic Hebridean places Places featured include:

St Clements Churh, Rodel, Harris • Dun Carloway • Ness Harbour, Lewis Gearranish Blackhouse towship, Lewis • Kissimul, Barra • Dunvegan, Skye • Eilean Iarmain (pier and hotel) Skye • Neist Point and Lighthouse, Skye • Talisker, Cuillins, Skye • Kinloch Castle, Rum • Sgurr of Eigg • Muck Harbour • Breacacha Castle Coll • Iona Abbey• Staffa Treshnish/ Clac Guairidh ruined townships Mull, Tobermory • Lip na Cloiche Garden, Mull • Bowmore, Islay • Bruichladdich, Islay • Ardnamurchan Lighthouse • Lismore Cathedral

Format: 250 x 250mm pbk ISBN: 9781780274768 Price: £8.99 Extent: 48pp Illustrations: b/w throughout July 2017

Also available THE COLOURING BOOK OF SCOTLAND ISBN: 9781780274058 Price: £8.99 Paperback

SALES OF OVER 5,000 COPIES

Angus Edward MacInnes

J U LY 2 0 1 7

Eriskay

Where I Was Born Angus Edward MacInnes was present to witness the real events behind Whisky Galore, after which he travelled the seas as a radio officer. He finished his career captaining Caledonian MacBrayne ferries on the Clyde.

Angus Edward MacInnes, born at Haun, Eriskay in the Outer Hebrides in 1925, returned in his imagination to the island of his birth to create what, since its first publication in 1997, has become a classic account of an almost forgotten way of life. His autobiography, told with the captivating rhythms and story-telling techniques of his native Gaelic, combines the author’s personal experiences with his observations of life around him. The result is a complete picture of Eriskay, from its topography to descriptions of the islanders’ dress, diet and schooling. The island’s traditions are brought vividly to life with amazing – but, the author insists, true – tales of ‘giants’, strong men, ghosts and the second sight. Amongst author Angus Edward’s stories of his childhood and schooldays on Eriskay is a hilarious first-hand account of the aftermath of the sinking of the SS Politician, later immortalised in Whisky Galore.

Format: 198 x 129mm B-pbk ISBN: 9781780273815 Price: £12.99 Extent: 272pp Illustrations: N/A July 2017

Also available WHISKY GALORE ISBN: 9781780270920 Price: £9.99 Hardback

Betsy Whyte The Yellow on the Broom Red Rowans Wild Honey T

brings vividly to life her joys and sorrows - the bitter and sweet ‘red rowans’ and ‘wild honey’ - in a way no work of the imagination can. This edition also contains another substantial piece of autobiography, intended to form the third part of the story of her life, which remained incomplete at the time of her death. This is the first time it has appeared in print.

Tales f r o m Tent

COMBINED OVER . . . full of delicious passages ofSALES lyrical prose . . . hasOF the authentic bloom of the open air on it . . . 40,000 COPIES The Scotsman Also available by Betsy Whyte: The Yellow on the Broom 978 1 84158 135 4 £6.99 ISBN: 978 1 84158 070 8 Cover design by James Hutcheson price: £6.99

£6.99

betsy whyte

Betsy Whyte was born into a traveller family in 1919 and brought up in the agethe old tradition of the ‘mist people’ – constantly moving around the country and settling down in one place only during the winter. It was while the family were ‘housed up’ at this time of year that she received her education, attending a number of village schools before winning a scholarship to Brechin High school, where she was the only traveller child. She gave up the traveller life when she married in 1939 and started writing about her childhood in the 1970s. She died in 1988.

Tales from the Tent

The Yellow on the Broom is the first part of Betsy Whyte’s autobiography. Not only is it a fascinating insight a n dof traveller into the life and customs people in the 1920s and 1930s, it is also thought-provoking b e t say w hyte he sequel toof the perennially popular Yellow onstrength the Broom, Red Rowans and account human and Wild Honey follows Betsy Whyte’s life to the end of the Second World War. She recounts in detail the heady years of her adolescence, her weakness, courage and cowardice, courtship and her mother’s struggle to bring up four children in the only way a travelling woman knew: hawking fruit picking, tatty howkingby a understanding andwares,prejudice - in fact any kind of work that would provide the next meal. Betsy Whyte was a gifted natural storyteller and this writer. moving memoir sensitive and entertaining

Tales from the Tent Yellow o n t h e Broom Betsy Whyte

www.birlinn.co.uk

Format: 198 x 129mm B-pbk ISBN: 9781841581354 Price: £7.99 Extent: 224pp February 2017

F E B R UA RY 2 0 1 7

Red Rowans and Wild Honey Red Rowans Wild Honey T

Red Rowans Wild Honey

The sequel to the perennially popular The Yellow on the Broom, Red Rowans and Wild Honey follows Betsy’s story to the end of the aSecond nd World War. She recounts in vivid detail the heady years her b e tof s yher w hadolescence, yte courtship and herpopular mother’s struggle toa n d he sequel to the perennially Yellow on the Broom, Red Rowans and Wild Honey follows Betsy Whyte’s life to the end of the Second bring upShefour the only World War. recounts inchildren detail the heady yearsin of her adolescence, her way courtship and her mother’s struggle to bring up four children in the only a travelling woman knew: way a travelling woman knew: hawking wares, fruit picking, tatty hawking howking - in fact any kind of work that would provide the next meal. wares, tatty howking Betsyfruit Whyte was a picking, gifted natural storyteller and this moving memoir vividly to life her joys and sorrows - the bitter and sweet ‘red rowans’ in brings fact any that would and ‘wild honey’ - in a kind way no work of of the work imagination can. This edition also contains another substantial piece of autobiography, intended to form provide the next the third part of the story of her life, meal. which remained incomplete at the time of delicious passages of lyrical prose . . . has the authentic This. . . fulledition another bloom ofalso the open aircontains on it . . . The Scotsman substantial piece of autobiography, Also available by Betsy Whyte: which remained incomplete at the The Yellow on the Broom 978 1 84158 135 4 £6.99 ISBN: 978 1 84158 070 8 time ofby Jamesher Cover design Hutchesondeath and which appears price: £6.99 £6.99 in print here for the first time. www.birlinn.co.uk

COMBINED SALES OF OVER 40,000 COPIES

betsy whyte

of her death. This is the first time it has appeared in print.

Red Rowans Wild Honey and

Betsy Whyte Format: 198 x 129mm B-pbk ISBN: 9781841580708 Price: £7.99 Extent: 224pp February 2017

Also available THE WAY OF THE WANDERERS ISBN: 9781780273341 Price: £9.99 Paperback

Jess Smith

Jessie's Journey

Jess Smith lives near Crieff. She is married and has three children and six grandchildren. As a traditional storyteller she is in great demand for performances throughout Scotland.

From the ages of 5 to 15, Jess Smith lived with her parents, sisters and a mongrel dog in an old, blue Bedford bus. They travelled the length and breadth of Scotland, and much of England too, stopping here and there until they were moved on by the local authorities or driven by their own instinctive need to travel. By campfires, under the unchanging stars they brewed up tea, telling stories and singing songs late into the night. Jessie’s Journey describes what it was like to be one of the last of the traditional travelling folk. It is not an idyllic tale, but despite the threat of bigoted abuse and scattered schooling, humour and laughter run throughout a childhood teeming with unforgettable characters and incidents.

‘Unforgettable story of a Scottish Gypsy girl’ – Maggie Smith Bendell ‘A life full of laughter, fun and most of all, love’ – Mary Horner, Editor, Romany Road 'a must-read for Big County history buffs' – Perthshire Advertiser

Format: 198 x 129mm B-pbk ISBN: 9781841587028 Price: £8.99 Extent: 256pp March 2017

MARCH 2017

Tales from the Tent Red Rowans Wild Honey T

Also available THE WAY OF THE WANDERERS ISBN: 9781780273341 Price: £9.99 Paperback

- in fact any kind of work that would provide the next meal. Betsy Whyte was a gifted natural storyteller and this moving memoir brings vividly to life her joys and sorrows - the bitter and sweet ‘red rowans’ and ‘wild honey’ - in a way no work of the imagination can. This edition also contains another substantial piece of autobiography, intended to form the third part of the story of her life, which remained incomplete at the time of her death. This is the first time it has appeared in print.

Having grown up on the road in an old blue bus with her parents and seven sisters, Jessie now joins her . . . full of delicious passages of lyrical prose . . . has the authentic family in bloom caravans, to rest of the open air on stopping it . . . in campsitesThe Scotsman and lay-bys as they follow work around the country – Also available by Betsy Whyte: The Yellow on the Broom 978 1 84158 135 4 £6.99 ISBN: 978 1 84158 070 8 berry-picking, hay-stacking, ragging, Cover design by James Hutcheson price: £6.99 £6.99 fortune-telling and hawking. Making www.birlinn.co.uk the most of their freedom, Jessie and her family continue the traditional way of life that is disappearing before their eyes, wandering the roads and byways, sharing tales and living on the edge of ‘acceptable’ society.

'told in Jess Smith’s gallus and infectious style which pulls you in and makes closing the book a sheer impossibility' – Scots Magazine

betsy whyte

Also available TEARS FOR A TINKER ISBN: 9781841587141 Price: £7.99 Paperback

Tales from the Tent

In Tales from the Tent, Jess Smith – Scottish traveller, hawker, gypsy, ‘ganabout’ and storyteller – continues and the unforgettable story of her life on the road. Unable to adjust to settled b e t sin y awfactory h y t eafter leaving life working he sequel to the perennially popular Yellow on the Broom, Red Rowans school, she finds herself drawn once and Wild Honey follows Betsy Whyte’s life to the end of the Second World War. Sheto recountsthe in detail the heady yearscountryside of her adolescence, her again wild of courtship and her mother’s struggle to bring up four children in the only way a travelling woman knew: hawking wares, fruit picking, tatty howking Scotland.

Tales from the Tent Tales f r o m t h e Tent Jess Smith

Format: 198 x 129mm B-pbk ISBN: 9781841587196 Price: £8.99 Extent: 240pp March 2017

COMBINED SALES OF OVER 30,000 COPIES

Alistair Moffat

MARCH 2017

The Reivers

The Story of the Border Reivers From the early fourteenth century to the end of the sixteenth, the AngloScottish borderlands witnessed one of the most intense periods of warfare and disorder ever seen in modern Europe.

Alistair Moffat is a former Director of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Director of Programmes at Scottish Television. He now runs the Borders and Lennoxlove book festivals and is currently Rector of St Andrews University. He has written numerous books, including Tuscany, The Faded Map, The Sea Kingdoms, The Borders and The Scots: A Genetic Journey, all of which are published by Birlinn.

As a consequence of near-constant conflict between England and Scotland, Borderers suffered at the hands of marauding armies, who ravaged the land, destroying crops, slaughtering cattle, burning settlements and killing indiscriminately. Forced by extreme circumstances, many Borderers took to reiving to ensure the survival of their families and communities, and for the best part of 300 years, countless raiding parties made their way over the border. The story of the Reivers is one of survival, stealth, treachery, ingenuity and deceit, expertly brought to life in Alistair Moffat’s acclaimed book. PREVIOUS EDITION OVER 12,000 COPIES

Format: 198 x 129mm B-pbk ISBN: 9781780274454 Price: £9.99 Extent: 336pp Illustrations: 16pp colour plates March 2017

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‘It is the passion and pride in the land of his birth that shine through in this superb new work’ – Southern Reporter

‘A page-turning history, lucidly written . . . one of the best reads of the year’ – Scottish Life

Also available THE BORDERS ISBN: 9781841584669 Price: £12.99 Paperback

The People's Historian

MARCH 2017

The Wall

Rome's Greatest Frontier ’A most compelling, thoughtprovoking and entertaining history’ – Rosemary Goring, Herald ‘This is a definitive piece of research, colourfully and humorously written, beautifully illustrated with fine photography and enhanced by a necessary map, dates of the Common Ridings, names of Border families and a selection of evocative Border Ballads’ – Scots Magazine 'Through deft prose and eagleeyed research Moffat succeeds in restoring Hadrian's Wall to its former grandeur' – Scottish Field 'In The Wall, Alistair Moffat's fascination shines through as he captures the enormous endeavour of the builders along with the captivating human stories the stones still tell after nearly two millennia' – Scotsman

Hadrian’s Wall is the largest, most spectacular and one of the most enigmatic historical monument in Britain. Nothing else approaches its vast scale: a land wall running 73 miles from east to west and a sea wall stretching at least 26 miles down the Cumbrian coast. Many of its forts are as large as Britain’s most formidable medieval castles, and the wide ditch dug to the south of the Wall, the vallum, is larger than any surviving prehistoric earthwork. Built in a tenyear period by more than 30,000 soldiers and labourers at the behest of an extraordinary emperor, the Wall consisted of more than 24 million stones, giving it a mass greater than all the Egyptian pyramids put together. In this book, based on literary and historical sources as well as the latest archaeological research, Alistair Moffat considers who built the Wall, how it was built, why it was built and how it affected the native peoples who lived in its mighty shadow. The result is a unique and fascinating insight into one of the Wonders of the Ancient World.

PREVIOUS EDITION OVER 13,000 COPIES

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Format: 198 x 129mm B-pbk ISBN: 9781780274553 Price: £9.99 Extent: 308pp Illustrations: 16pp colour plates March 2017

Also available THE FADED MAP ISBN: 9781841589589 Price: £9.99 Paperback

The People's Historian

APRIL 2017

The Scots

A Genetic Journey

History has always mattered to Scots, and rarely more so than now at the outset of a new century, after more than ten years of a new parliament and the new census of 2011. An almost limitless archive of our history lies hidden inside our bodies and we carry the ancient story of Scotland around with us. The mushrooming of genetic studies, of DNA analysis, is rewriting our history in spectacular fashion. This new edition takes into account recent developments in DNA science and includes recent findings on early farming and its migrations, Neanderthal DNA, the classic Celtic DNA Y chromosome haplogroup, the royal Stewart lineages, and physical characteristics such as red hair and blue eyes. ‘[Moffat] is wonderfully able to communicate the epic elements of the story – which matters because that’s precisely what man’s survival has been’ – The Scotsman

Format: 198 x 129mm B-pbk ISBN: 9781780274447 Price: £9.99 Extent: 272pp Illustrations: 8pp colour plates April 2017

'A fascinating picture' – James Naughtie, Today Programme BBC Radio 4

'The fusion of science and the physical history – like an abandoned croft – allows people to trace their Scots ancestry with precision’ – Sunday Herald

PREVIOUS EDITION OVER 12,000 COPIES

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The People's Historian

APRIL 2017

Britain

A Genetic Journey '[O]ne of those books that are just about impossible to put down' – Sunday Express '[A] new and revolutionary book, based on exciting new research […] a unique people's history' – Discover Your History 'Moffat has always been a magpie historian, picking up unsuspected jewels of information, at the same time never afraid to speculate, often in an agreeably provocative manner' – Alan Massie, Scotsman ‘an engaging, beautifully-told people’s history of Britain that will change your thinking about your family’s origins forever’ – Family Tree Magazine ‘a fascinating subject . . . Historian, journalist and DNA research company director makes for an excellent guide’ – Your Family Tree

Based on exciting new research involving the largest sampling of DNA ever made in Britain, Alistair Moffat, author of the bestselling The Scots: A Genetic Journey, shows how all of us who live on these islands are immigrants. The last ice age erased any trace of more ancient inhabitants, and the ancestors of everyone who now lives in Britain came here after the glaciers retreated and the land greened once more. In an epic narrative, sometimes moving, sometimes astonishing, always revealing, Moffat writes an entirely new history of Britain. Instead of the usual parade of the usual suspects– kings, queens, saints, warriors and the notorious – this is a people's history, a narrative made from stories only DNA can tell which offers insights into who we are and where we come from.

Format: 198 x 129mm B-pbk ISBN: 9781780274638 Price: £9.99 Extent: 308pp Illustrations: 8pp colour plates April 2017

Originally published in hardback as The British: A Genetic Journey.

Also available SCOTLAND: A HISTORY FROM EARLIEST TIMES ISBN: 9781780272801 Price: £25.00 hardback 35

Ian MacDougall

F E B R UA RY 2 0 1 7

Voices of Scottish Librarians

Ian MacDougall, a longstanding research worker of the Scottish Working People’s History Trust, has played a pivotal role in recording working people’s lives and publishing their stories. He is the author of several works of social history including Bondagers, All Men are Brethren, Voices of Scottish Journalists, Voices from War and Voices from Lilliesleaf.

This collection, based on interviews with 14 librarians and other library staff working in Scotland in the twentieth century, tells the stories of their working lives, explaining how libraries developed from the difficulties of the inter-war period and the austerity following the Second World War to become a well-used and important feature of local communities, committed to delivering an expanding range of public services. As background to their working lives, the interviewees describe their family circumstances, housing, schooling, pastimes, reading and wartime experiences. Charting the evolution of librarianship, the book reveals how our libraries have served society for generations and confirms Andrew Carnegie’s belief that public libraries are one of the most potent agencies for good.

Also available ALL MEN ARE BRETHEREN ISBN: 9781904607724 Price: £25.00 Paperback

Format: 234 x 156mm R-pbk ISBN: 9781910900093 Price: £16.99 Extent: 384pp Illustrations: 4pp b/w plates February 2017

Also available VOICES FROM LILLIESLEAF ISBN: 9781906566951 Price: £20.00 Paperback

Mairi Hedderwick

M AY 2 0 1 7

Hebridean Stationery This beautiful stationery collection features distinctive full-colour paintings by one of Scotland’s best-loved authors and artists, Mairi Hedderwick, in a wonderful celebration of the extraordinary natural beauty of the Hebrides throughout the seasons.

Mairi Hedderwick is the creator of the imaginary island of Struay where her perennially popular Katie Morag stories are set. As well as creating children’s books Mairi writes and illustrates travel books for adults. She also illustrated the acclaimed Janet Reachfar books, which are published by Birlinn. She lives on Coll.

The paintings have been collected over the past forty years and show the changing faces of the landscapes. Mairi’s sketches range across many of the isles from Arran to Tiree, expertly capturing the essence of these beautiful and diverse islands, from wind-swept machair and dramatic cliffs to rolling hills and secluded woods. Following the warm reception of the previous diaries and calendars, this new 2018 collection is set to enjoy continued success.

The Hebridean Pocket Diary 2018 ISBN: 9781780274331 Format: 156 x 111mm hbk Price: £7.99 Extent: 128pp Illustrations: Colour throughout

The Hebridean Desk Diary 2018 ISBN: 9781780274348 Format: 230 x 170mm hbk Price: £12.99 Extent: 128pp Illustrations: Colour throughout

Also available HEBRIDEAN DESK ADDRESS BOOK ISBN: 9781841589879 Price: £12.99 Hardback

The Hebridean Calendar 2018 ISBN: 9781780274355 Format: 300 x 300mm CA Price: £9.99 Extent: 24pp Illustrations: Colour throughout

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