Birlinn New Title Catalogue Spring 2017

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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.
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CONTENTS
NEW TITLES
The Colouring Book of Edinburgh – Eilidh Muldoon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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 – James Miller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Islay: The Land of the Lordship – David Caldwell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Essential English-Gaelic / Gaelic English Dictionary – Angus Watson . . . . . . . . . . .
Enlightenment Edinburgh: A Guide – Sheila Szatkowski . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Hebrides – Paul Murton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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
29
31
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 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
ALSO AVAILABLE – Alistair Moffat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
JOHN DONALD
Voices From Scottish Librarians – Ian MacDougall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Kingdom of the Isles – R. Andrew MacDonald . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Mary, Queen of Scots – Jenny Wormald . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
41
43
45
STATIONERY
Hebridean Stationery – Mairi Hedderwick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Scottish Maps Calendar 2018 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Scottish Wildlife Calendar 2018 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Elizabeth Blackadder Cat Calendar 2018 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
47
49
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49
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4

Eilidh Muldoon
APRIL 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
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.
Format: 250 x 250mm pbk
ISBN: 9781780274317
Price: £8.99
Extent: 48pp
Illustrations: b/w throughout
April 2017
Also available
THE COLOURING BOOK OF SCOTLAND
ISBN: 9781780274058
Price: £8.99 Paperback
SALES OF OVER 6,000 COPIES
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6

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
EDINBURGH
ISBN: 9781780273716
Also available
SET IN STONE
ISBN: 9781780271514
Price: £9.99 Paperback
MULL, IONA & ARDNAMURCHAN (June 2017)
ISBN: 9781780274409
ARGYLL & THE ISLANDS (June 2017)
ISBN: 9781780274669
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Donald S. Murray
The Italian Chapel,
Orkney
APRIL 2017
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
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Dion Alexander
APRIL 2017
The Potter's Tale
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
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12

Mark Muller Stuart
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.
Storm in the Desert
British Invervention in Libya
and the Arab Spring
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 world’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: £25.00
Extent: 384pp
Illustrations: 16pp colour plates
May 2017
MAY 2017
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Blair Bowman with Nikki Welch
MAY 2017
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.
Nikki Welch spent ten
years selling and marketing
wine for a number of
wine producers and major
supermarkets. She now owns
Convivium Wine, organizes
events for the public and
for wine companies, trains
staff, writes about wine and
acts as a consultant for wine
businesses.
The ever-expanding world of whisky
can be a daunting one, with a deluge
of new brands, distilleries and
literature on the subject making it
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!
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.
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
15

16

Robin Ward
MAY 2017
Exploring Glasgow
The Architectural Guide
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: 304pp
Illustrations: Colour throughout
May 2017
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18

James Miller
MAY 2017
The Finest Road in
The World
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.
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.
Format: 234 x 156mm R-pbk
ISBN: 9781780274300
Price: £12.99
Extent: 320pp
Illustrations: Colour throughout
May 2017
Also available
THE DAM BUILDERS
ISBN: 9781841582252
Price: £14.99 Paperback
Also available
THE GATHERING STREAM
ISBN: 9781780270951
Price: £14.99 Paperback
Also available
SCAPA
ISBN: 9781843410058
Price: £9.99 Paperback
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20

David Caldwell
MAY 2017
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
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22

Angus Watson
MAY 2017
The Essential English-Gaelic
Gaelic-English Dictionary
Angus Watson’s Essential Gaelic–
English and English–Gaelic
dictionaries are well-established as
one of the leading dictionaries of the
Gaelic language.
Angus Watson graduated
in Gaelic from Aberdeen
University and is a published
writer of Gaelic short stories.
He has recently completed a
PhD at St Andrews
University and currently
lives in France.
This combined dictionary is ideal for
learners of Gaelic at all levels, and
its generous coverage of vocabulary
from fields such as business and IT
makes it a valuable tool for all those
who require an up-to-date reference
work. It contains a large amount
of explanatory material, numerous
examples of usage and idiomatic
phrases and expressions. Many
registers and styles are sampled, from
the familiar (and occasionally the
vulgar) to the formal and the literary.
Cross-references draw the user to
related words and expressions, and
Scots equivalents are provided for a
number of headwords.
Format: 234 x 156mm R-pbk
ISBN: 9781780274645
Price: £14.99
Extent: 528pp
Illustrations: N/A
May 2017
Also available
POCKET ENGLISH-GAELIC DICTIONARY
ISBN: 9781841588087
Price: £7.99 Paperback
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24

Sheila Szatkowski
JUNE 2017
Enlightenment Edinburgh
A Guide
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).
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.
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.
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.
Format: 236 x 190mm pbk
ISBN: 9781780273730
Price: £12.99
Extent: 128pp
Illustrations: Colour throughout
June 2017
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26

Paul Murton
JULY 2017
The Hebrides
Paul Murton is well
known as a documentary
film maker whose work
includes Grand Tours of
Scotland and Grand Tours
of the Scottish Islands (4
series). He grew up in rural
Argyll and has been an
inveterate traveller since his
teenage years.
Paul Murton has spent half-a lifetime
exploring some of the most beautiful
islands in the world – the Hebrides.
He has travelled the length and
breadth of the Scotland’s rugged, sixthousand-mile
coast line, and sailed
to over eighty islands.
In this book Paul visits each of
the Hebridean islands in turn,
introducing their myths anc legends,
history, culture and extraordinary
natural beauty. In addition he also
meets the people who live there and
learns their story. He has met crofters,
fishermen, tweed weavers, Gaelic
singers, clan chiefs, artists, postmen
and bus drivers – people from every
walk of life who make the islands tick.
This blend of the contemporary and
the traditional creates a vivid account
of the Hebrides and serves as unique
guide to the less well known aspects
of life among the islands.
Format: 246 x 189mm pbk
ISBN: 9781780274676
Price: £14.99
Extent: 304pp
Illustrations: Colour throughout
July 2017
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Eilidh Muldoon
JULY 2017
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:
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.
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
29

30

Angus Edward MacInnes
JULY 2017
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.
Eriskay
Where I Was Born
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
31

Betsy Whyte
The Yellow
on the Broom
Betsy Whyte was born into
a traveller family in 1919
and brought up in the ageold
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.
The Yellow on the Broom is the first
part of Betsy Whyte’s autobiography.
Not only is it a fascinating insight
into the life and customs of traveller
people in the 1920s and 1930s,
it is also a thought-provoking
account of human strength and
weakness, courage and cowardice,
understanding and prejudice by a
sensitive and entertaining writer.
COMBINED SALES OF OVER
40,000 COPIES
Format: 198 x 129mm B-pbk
ISBN: 9781841581354
Price: £7.99
Extent: 224pp
March 2017
32

MARCH 2017
Red Rowans
and 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 Second World
War. She recounts in vivid detail the
heady years of her adolescence, her
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 -
in fact any kind of work that would
provide the next meal.
This edition also contains another
substantial piece of autobiography,
which remained incomplete at the
time of her death and which appears
in print here for the first time.
COMBINED SALES OF OVER
40,000 COPIES
Format: 198 x 129mm B-pbk
ISBN: 9781841580708
Price: £7.99
Extent: 224pp
March 2017
Also available
THE WAY OF THE WANDERERS
ISBN: 9781780273341
Price: £9.99 Paperback
33

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.
Format: 198 x 129mm B-pbk
ISBN: 9781841587028
Price: £8.99
Extent: 256pp
March 2017
‘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
34

MARCH 2017
Tales from the Tent
Also available
TEARS FOR A TINKER
ISBN: 9781841587141
Price: £7.99 Paperback
Also available
THE WAY OF THE WANDERERS
ISBN: 9781780273341
Price: £9.99 Paperback
In Tales from the Tent, Jess Smith –
Scottish traveller, hawker, gypsy, ‘ganabout’
and storyteller – continues
the unforgettable story of her life on
the road. Unable to adjust to settled
life working in a factory after leaving
school, she finds herself drawn once
again to the wild countryside of
Scotland.
Having grown up on the road in an
old blue bus with her parents and
seven sisters, Jessie now joins her
family in caravans, stopping to rest
in campsites and lay-bys as they
follow work around the country –
berry-picking, hay-stacking, ragging,
fortune-telling and hawking. Making
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.
Format: 198 x 129mm B-pbk
ISBN: 9781841587196
Price: £8.99
Extent: 240pp
March 2017
'told in Jess Smith’s gallus and
infectious style which pulls you in
and makes closing the book a sheer
impossibility' – Scots Magazine
COMBINED SALES OF OVER
30,000 COPIES
35

Alistair Moffat
MARCH 2017
The Reivers
The Story of the Border Reivers
From the early fourteenth century to
the end of the sixteenth, the Anglo-
Scottish 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 SOLD
OVER 12,000 COPIES
Format: 198 x 129mm B-pbk
ISBN: 9781780274454
Price: £9.99
Extent: 336pp
Illustrations: 16pp colour plates
March 2017
‘It is the passion and pride in the land
of his birth that shine through in this
superb new work’
– Southern Reporter
36
‘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.
Format: 198 x 129mm B-pbk
ISBN: 9781780274553
Price: £9.99
Extent: 308pp
Illustrations: 16pp colour plates
March 2017
PREVIOUS EDITION SOLD
OVER 13,000 COPIES
Also available
THE FADED MAP
ISBN: 9781841589589
Price: £9.99 Paperback
37

The People's Historian
APRIL 2017
The Scots
A Genetic Journey
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.
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
'A fascinating picture'
– James Naughtie, Today Programme
BBC Radio 4
Format: 198 x 129mm B-pbk
ISBN: 9781780274447
Price: £9.99
Extent: 272pp
Illustrations: 8pp colour plates
April 2017
38
'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 SOLD
OVER 12,000 COPIES

Alistair Moffat
ALSO AVAILABLE
Also available
SCOTLAND: A HISTORY FROM EARLIEST TIMES
ISBN: 9781780272801
Price: £25.00 hardback
Also available
ARTHUR AND THE LOST KINGDOMS
ISBN: 9781780270791
Price: £9.99 paperback
Also available
BANNOCKBURN
ISBN: 9781780272795
Price: £7.99 paperback
Also available
THE SEA KINGDOMS
ISBN: 9781841587172
Price: £9.99 paperback
39

40

Ian MacDougall
FEBRUARY 2017
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.
Format: 234 x 156mm R-pbk
ISBN: 9781910900093
Price: £16.99
Extent: 384pp
Illustrations: 4pp b/w plates
February 2017
Also available
ALL MEN ARE BRETHEREN
ISBN: 9781904607724
Price: £25.00 Paperback
Also available
VOICES FROM LILLIESLEAF
ISBN: 9781906566951
Price: £20.00 Paperback
41

42

R. Andrew MacDonald
MAY 2017
The Kingdom of the Isles
Scotland's Western Seaboard c.1100 - 1336
R. ANDREW MCDONALD
is Professor of History at
Brock University, Canada,
where he was the founding
director of the Centre for
Medieval and Renaissance
Studies. He is the author of
many books, book chapters,
and articles on medieval
Scottish, Hebridean, and
Manx history, including
Outlaws of Medieval
Scotland: Challenges to the
Canmore Kings 1058-1266,
co-editor of The Viking Age:
A Reader and co-editor of
Alba: Celtic Scotland in the
Middle Ages.
This study explores the history of the
western seaboard of Scotland (the
Hebrides, Argyll and the Isle of Man)
in a formative but often neglected
era: the central middle ages, from the
mightly Somerled to his descendant
John MacDonald, the first Lord of the
Isles (c. 1336).
Drawing on a variety of sources, this
very readable narrative deals with
three major and closely interrelated
themes: first, the existence of the Isles
and coastal mainland as a kingdom
from c.1100 to 1266; second, the
rulers of the region, Somerled and
his descendants, the MacDougalls,
MacDonalds and MacRuaris; and
third, the often complex relations
among the Isles, Scotland, Norway
and England. A fully rounded history
emerges, which transcends national
viewpoints.
Format: 234 x 156mm R-pbk
ISBN: 9781904607793
Price: £25.00
Extent: 288pp
Illustrations: 8pp b/w plates
May 2017
Also available
OUTLAWS OF MEDIEVAL SCOTLAND
ISBN: 9781910900000
Price: £20.00 Paperback
Also available
ALBA
ISBN: 9781906566579
Price: £20.00 Paperback
43

44

Jenny Wormald
AUGUST 2017
Mary, Queen of Scots
A Study in Failure
JENNY WORMALD was
one of the most influential
Scottish historians of her
generation. After retirement
to Edinburgh she became an
Honorary Fellow in Scottish
History at the University of
Edinburgh and an Honorary
Fellow of the Royal Society of
Antiquaries of Scotland. She
wrote a number of significant
books and articles, including
Court, Kirk and Community:
Scotland 1470–1625 (1981),
‘James VI and I: Two
Kings or One?’ (1983) and
‘Gunpowder, Treason and
Scots’ (1985).
Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, has
long been portrayed as one of
history’s romantically tragic figures.
Devious, naïve, beautiful and sexually
voracious, often highly principled,
she secured the Scottish throne and
bolstered the position of the Catholic
Church in Scotland. Her plotting,
including probable involvement in
the murder of her husband Lord
Darnley, led to her flight from
Scotland and imprisonment by
her equally ambitious cousin and
fellow queen, Elizabeth of England.
Yet when Elizabeth ordered Mary’s
execution in 1587 it was an act of
exasperated frustration rather than
political wrath.
Unlike biographies of Mary predating
this work, this masterly study set out
to show Mary as she really was – not
a romantic heroine, but the ruler of a
European kingdom with far greater
economic and political importance
than its size or location would
indicate. Her extraordinary story has
become one of the most colourful
and emotionally searing tales of
western history, and it is here fully
reconsidered by a leading specialist
of the period. Jenny Wormald’s
beautifully written biography will
appeal to students and general readers
alike.
Format: 234 x 156mm R-pbk
ISBN: 9781910900116
Price: £16.99
Extent: 384pp
Illustrations: 12pp colour plates
August 2017
45

46

Mairi Hedderwick
MAY 2017
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 inc VAT
Extent: 128pp
Illustrations: Colour throughout
The Hebridean Desk Diary 2018
ISBN: 9781780274348
Format: 230 x 170mm hbk
Price: £12.99 inc VAT
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 inc VAT
Extent: 24pp
Illustrations: Colour throughout
47

48

Birlinn Calendars
MAY 2017
Scottish Maps Calendar 2018
Following the success of the 2017 Scottish Maps Calendar, Birlinn is
once again proud to collaborate with the National Library of Scotland.
This new calendar features more of the most beautiful maps of Scotland
ever made. From the very earliest representations of Scotland in the
second century AD, through the first printed maps of the 16th century
and the achievement of the Ordnance Survey in the 1920s and 1930s to
the most recent satellite imagery, these images tell the story of a nation.
Scottish Maps Calendar 2018
ISBN: 9781780274362
Format: 300 x 300mm CA
Price: £9.99 inc VAT
Extent: 24pp
Illustrations: Colour throughout
Scottish Wildlife Calendar 2018
Scotland is home to a staggering array of wildlife, from the iconic red
deer and Highland cow to the magnificent sea eagle and bottle-nosed
dolphin. This calendar features not only a beautiful selection of animals
themselves but also their natural habitats, which are some of the most
magnificent scenery in the world.
Scottish Wildlife Calendar 2018
ISBN: 9781780274942
Format: 300 x 300mm CA
Price: £9.99 inc VAT
Extent: 24pp
Illustrations: Colour throughout
Elizabeth Blackadder Cat
Calendar 2018
Elizabeth Blackadder is one of Britain’s most acclaimed and popular
contemporary artists. A highly versatile and accomplished artist whose
lyrical watercolour still life and landscape paintings have been exhibited
throughout the UK and abroad, she is also known for her marvelous
paintings of cats, which feature on many greetings cards and stationery
items.
Elizabeth Blackadder Cat Calendar 2018
ISBN: 9781780274959
Format: 300 x 300mm CA
Price: £9.99 inc VAT
Extent: 24pp
Illustrations: Colour throughout
49

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52