More on Makars' Court - Edinburgh Museums

Naomi Mitchison (1897 - 1999)
Go back far enough and all humankind are cousins
[from the novel Early in Orcadia]
Born Naomi Haldane on 1 November 1897 in Edinburgh, she
married the barrister and Labour politician G. Richard Mitchison,
later Baron Mitchison, and from 1937 lived at Carradale in Kintyre.
Her first novels came out of her interest in classical mythology and
history, including The Corn King and the Spring Queen (1931), and
wrote over 70 books including novels for children, science fiction,
two biographies, poetry, and short stories.
Sponsored by the family and friends of Naomi Mitchison, 2001.
Fiona MacColla (1906 - 1975)
Fiona MacColla was the pen-name of Thomas Douglas Macdonald.
Born on 4 March 1906 in Montrose, he trained as a teacher in
Aberdeen, working in various schools in the Highlands and Western
Isles. His novels are set against the changing way of life in the
Highlands — his first novel, The Albannach, published to critical
acclaim in 1932, depicts the rediscovering of the importance of
community and tradition:
…the land of the people of my blood - my fathers of the thousands
of years, over the face of the world my roots in the soil of Alba.
Although his literary output was relatively small, he was a major
figure in the Scottish Renaissance and his ideas about Scotland,
Scottish history and Scottish writing have greatly influenced
subsequent writers. He died in 1975 in Edinburgh.
Sponsored by the MacDonald Family, 2006.