Literary Scotland

Edinburgh and the Lothians9Perhaps the essential Edinburgh novel isMuriel Spark’s The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie(1961), which captures the potential forradicalism and also deploys a devastating andmerciless sense of humour which are essentialaspects of Edinburgh’s character. Somewould say that Irvine Welsh’s Trainspotting(1993) is closer to the reality of Edinburgh,or that Ian Rankin’s Rebus crime novelsshow the city in its turn-of-the-centuryera and you can walk through FleshmarketClose, the title of one of his novels, and seehis handprint (next to that of J.K. Rowling)outside the City Chambers. Edinburgh’shistory has room for each of these visions,the genteel Brodie crème de la crème, the39 edinburgh underworlds of Welsh and Rankin andmany others too. Whatever your preference,Edinburgh is a literary centre, designatedthe first UNESCO City of Literature in2004, home to the annual InternationalBook Festival, the world’s largest book fair,and with its own poet laureate. Homes ofauthors include: 8 Howard Place, birthplaceof Robert Louis Stevenson, and 17 HeriotRow, the Stevenson family home; 25Drummond Place, home of Sydney GoodsirSmith; 4 Nelson Street, home of RobertGarioch; 39 Castle Street, home of WalterScott; 160 Bruntsfield Place, birthplace ofMuriel Spark; and 7 Leamington Terrace,home of Norman MacCaig.Above View over Edinburgh’s Old Town. 25