The List: 100 Best Scottish Books, 2005
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1deargreenplace
It's an old list, I know, but maybe interesting to look at again. How many have we read? Is anything missing from the list?
Adam Blair (1822) John Gibson Lockhart
Annals of the Parish (1821) John Galt
An Oidhche Mus Do Sheinn (2003) Aonghas Pलaig Caimbeul
Behind the Scenes at the Museum (1995) Kate Atkinson
Black and blue (1997) Ian Rankin
Born Free (1999) Laura Hird
The Break-Up of Britain: Crisis and Neo-Nationalism (1977) Tom Nairn
Brond (1984) Frederic Lindsay
The Bull Calves (1947) Naomi Mitchison
Buddha Da (2003) Anne Donovan
But n Ben A-Go-Go (2000) Matthew Fitt
Children of the Dead End (1914) Patrick MacGill
The Citadel (1937) AJ Cronin
A Concussed History of Scotland (1990) Frank Kuppner
The Cone-Gatherers (1955) Robin Jenkins
Confessions of an English Opium-Eater (1822) Thomas De Quincey
Consider the Lilies (1968) Iain Crichton Smith
The Coral Island (1858) R. M. Ballantyne
The Cutting Room (2002) Louise Welsh
A Day at the Office (1991) Robert Alan Jamieson
The Dear Green Place (1966) Archie Hind
A Disaffection (1989) James Kelman
The Divided Self (1960) RD Laing
Docherty (1975) William McIlvanney
An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding (1748) David Hume
Electric Brae (1997) Andrew Greig
The Expedition of Humphry Clinker (1771) Tobias Smollett
Flemington (1911) Violet Jacob
For the Love of Willie (1998) Agnes Owens
From Russia, With Love (1957) Ian Fleming
The Game of Kings (1961) Dorothy Dunnett
Garnethill (1998) Denise Mina
The Golden Bough (1890) James Frazer
The Gowk Storm (1933) Nancy Brysson Morrison
Grace Notes (1997) Bernard MacLaverty
Greenvoe (1972) George Mackay Brown
The Guns of Navarone (1957) Alistair MacLean
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997) J.K. Rowling
Heart of Darkness (1902) Joseph Conrad
The Highland Clearances (1969) John Prebble
Hotel World (2001) Ali Smith
The Hound of the Baskervilles (1902) Arthur Conan Doyle
The House with the Green Shutters (1901) George Douglas Brown
Imagined Corners (1931) Willa Muir
Jelly Roll (1998) Luke Sutherland
Jericho Sleep Alone (1964) Chaim Bermant
Joseph Knight (2003) James Robertson
King James Bible: Authorised Version (1611) Various
Lanark (1981) Alasdair Gray
The Lantern Bearers (1999) Ronald Frame
The Life of Samuel Johnson (1791) James Boswell
The Lighthouse Stevensons (1999) Bella Bathurst
Lilith (1895) George MacDonald
Living Nowhere (2003) John Burnside
Madame Doubtfire (1987) Anne Fine
The Magic Flute (1990) Alan Spence
Me and Ma Gal (1995) Des Dillon
Miss Marjoribanks (1866) Margaret Oliphant
Morvern Callar (1995) Alan Warner
Mr Alfred, M.A. (1972) George Frie
The New Road (1914) Neil Munro
The New Testament in Scots (1983) trans. William Laughton Lorimer
Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) George Orwell
No Mean City: A Story of the Glasgow Slums (1935) Alexander McArthur and H. Kingsley Long
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (1998) Alexander McCall Smith
One Fine Day in the Middle of the Night (1999) Christopher Brookmyre
Open the Door! (1920) Catherine Carswell
Our Fathers (1999) Andrew O'Hagan
Paradise (2004) AL Kennedy
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1961) Muriel Spark
The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner (1824) James Hogg
Psychoraag (2004) Suhayl Saadi
The Quarry Wood (1928) Nan Shepherd
Rob Roy (1818) Walter Scott
Sartor Resartus (1836) Thomas Carlyle
Scar Culture (1999) Toni Davidson
The Sea Road (2000) Margaret Elphinstone
A Sense of Freedom (1977) Jimmy Boyle
The Shipbuilders (1935) George Blake
The Siege of Trencher's Farm (1969) Gordon Williams
The Silver Darlings (1941) Neil M Gunn
The Sound of My Voice (1987) Ron Butlin
The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886) Robert Louis Stevenson
Swing Hammer Swing! (1992) Jeff Torrington
Sunset Song (1932) Lewis Grassic Gibbon
The Thirty-Nine Steps (1915) John Buchan
To the Lighthouse (1927) Virginia Woolf
Trainspotting (1993) Irvine Welsh
The Trick is to Keep Breathing (1989) Janice Galloway
Trumpet (1998) Jackie Kay
A Twelvemonth and a Day (1985) Christopher Rush
Tunes of Glory (1956) James Kennaway
Under the Skin (2000) Michel Faber
A Voyage to Arcturus (1920) David Lindsay
The Wasp Factory (1984) Iain Banks
The Wealth of Nations (1776) Adam Smith
Whisky Galore (1947) Compton Mackenzie
The White Bird Passes (1958) Jessie Kesson
The Wind in the Willows (1908) Kenneth Grahame
Young Adam (1954) Alexander Trocchi
** edited to attempt to correct touchstones
Adam Blair (1822) John Gibson Lockhart
Annals of the Parish (1821) John Galt
An Oidhche Mus Do Sheinn (2003) Aonghas Pलaig Caimbeul
Behind the Scenes at the Museum (1995) Kate Atkinson
Black and blue (1997) Ian Rankin
Born Free (1999) Laura Hird
The Break-Up of Britain: Crisis and Neo-Nationalism (1977) Tom Nairn
Brond (1984) Frederic Lindsay
The Bull Calves (1947) Naomi Mitchison
Buddha Da (2003) Anne Donovan
But n Ben A-Go-Go (2000) Matthew Fitt
Children of the Dead End (1914) Patrick MacGill
The Citadel (1937) AJ Cronin
A Concussed History of Scotland (1990) Frank Kuppner
The Cone-Gatherers (1955) Robin Jenkins
Confessions of an English Opium-Eater (1822) Thomas De Quincey
Consider the Lilies (1968) Iain Crichton Smith
The Coral Island (1858) R. M. Ballantyne
The Cutting Room (2002) Louise Welsh
A Day at the Office (1991) Robert Alan Jamieson
The Dear Green Place (1966) Archie Hind
A Disaffection (1989) James Kelman
The Divided Self (1960) RD Laing
Docherty (1975) William McIlvanney
An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding (1748) David Hume
Electric Brae (1997) Andrew Greig
The Expedition of Humphry Clinker (1771) Tobias Smollett
Flemington (1911) Violet Jacob
For the Love of Willie (1998) Agnes Owens
From Russia, With Love (1957) Ian Fleming
The Game of Kings (1961) Dorothy Dunnett
Garnethill (1998) Denise Mina
The Golden Bough (1890) James Frazer
The Gowk Storm (1933) Nancy Brysson Morrison
Grace Notes (1997) Bernard MacLaverty
Greenvoe (1972) George Mackay Brown
The Guns of Navarone (1957) Alistair MacLean
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997) J.K. Rowling
Heart of Darkness (1902) Joseph Conrad
The Highland Clearances (1969) John Prebble
Hotel World (2001) Ali Smith
The Hound of the Baskervilles (1902) Arthur Conan Doyle
The House with the Green Shutters (1901) George Douglas Brown
Imagined Corners (1931) Willa Muir
Jelly Roll (1998) Luke Sutherland
Jericho Sleep Alone (1964) Chaim Bermant
Joseph Knight (2003) James Robertson
King James Bible: Authorised Version (1611) Various
Lanark (1981) Alasdair Gray
The Lantern Bearers (1999) Ronald Frame
The Life of Samuel Johnson (1791) James Boswell
The Lighthouse Stevensons (1999) Bella Bathurst
Lilith (1895) George MacDonald
Living Nowhere (2003) John Burnside
Madame Doubtfire (1987) Anne Fine
The Magic Flute (1990) Alan Spence
Me and Ma Gal (1995) Des Dillon
Miss Marjoribanks (1866) Margaret Oliphant
Morvern Callar (1995) Alan Warner
Mr Alfred, M.A. (1972) George Frie
The New Road (1914) Neil Munro
The New Testament in Scots (1983) trans. William Laughton Lorimer
Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) George Orwell
No Mean City: A Story of the Glasgow Slums (1935) Alexander McArthur and H. Kingsley Long
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (1998) Alexander McCall Smith
One Fine Day in the Middle of the Night (1999) Christopher Brookmyre
Open the Door! (1920) Catherine Carswell
Our Fathers (1999) Andrew O'Hagan
Paradise (2004) AL Kennedy
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1961) Muriel Spark
The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner (1824) James Hogg
Psychoraag (2004) Suhayl Saadi
The Quarry Wood (1928) Nan Shepherd
Rob Roy (1818) Walter Scott
Sartor Resartus (1836) Thomas Carlyle
Scar Culture (1999) Toni Davidson
The Sea Road (2000) Margaret Elphinstone
A Sense of Freedom (1977) Jimmy Boyle
The Shipbuilders (1935) George Blake
The Siege of Trencher's Farm (1969) Gordon Williams
The Silver Darlings (1941) Neil M Gunn
The Sound of My Voice (1987) Ron Butlin
The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886) Robert Louis Stevenson
Swing Hammer Swing! (1992) Jeff Torrington
Sunset Song (1932) Lewis Grassic Gibbon
The Thirty-Nine Steps (1915) John Buchan
To the Lighthouse (1927) Virginia Woolf
Trainspotting (1993) Irvine Welsh
The Trick is to Keep Breathing (1989) Janice Galloway
Trumpet (1998) Jackie Kay
A Twelvemonth and a Day (1985) Christopher Rush
Tunes of Glory (1956) James Kennaway
Under the Skin (2000) Michel Faber
A Voyage to Arcturus (1920) David Lindsay
The Wasp Factory (1984) Iain Banks
The Wealth of Nations (1776) Adam Smith
Whisky Galore (1947) Compton Mackenzie
The White Bird Passes (1958) Jessie Kesson
The Wind in the Willows (1908) Kenneth Grahame
Young Adam (1954) Alexander Trocchi
** edited to attempt to correct touchstones
2KromesTomes
How late it was, how late by James Kelman should be on there ...
(edited because I can't read ... thanks, Jargoneer.)
(edited because I can't read ... thanks, Jargoneer.)
3Jargoneer
Hate to point this out but both Smith and Hume are there.
The list does have faults though, including works by Woolf, Orwell & Conrad, for example, is stretching the point about Scottish books. There are quite a few 'mediocre' modern books on it as well but the problem is that Scotland does not have the great literary tradition of England - the schools of Scotland produced engineers, doctors and bankers, not writers.
There are still books that are missing though - James Hogg The Three Perils of Man, arguably a better book than Confessions of a Justified Sinnet. Margaret Oliphant deserved more of presence. If you include Lilith, then you should include Phantastes. Why are Kidnapped & Treasure Island not there?
The list does have faults though, including works by Woolf, Orwell & Conrad, for example, is stretching the point about Scottish books. There are quite a few 'mediocre' modern books on it as well but the problem is that Scotland does not have the great literary tradition of England - the schools of Scotland produced engineers, doctors and bankers, not writers.
There are still books that are missing though - James Hogg The Three Perils of Man, arguably a better book than Confessions of a Justified Sinnet. Margaret Oliphant deserved more of presence. If you include Lilith, then you should include Phantastes. Why are Kidnapped & Treasure Island not there?
4damn_camera Första inlägget
Well, i've read 15. Not bad for a Johnny Foreigner, eh? The Glaswegian only claims 17, so i think i've done pretty well!
5deargreenplace
I haven't read too many of them:
Buddha Da by Anne Donovan
The Cutting Room by Louise Welsh
The Guns of Navarone by Alistair Maclean (assigned as school reading in Primary 7 for reasons still unknown)
Morvern Callar by Alan Warner
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
Swing Hammer Swing! by Jeff Torrington
To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh
The Trick is to Keep Breathing by Janice Galloway
The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks
Only 10! On my to-be-read list are:
Our Fathers by Andrew O'Hagan and The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner by James Hogg, and I'm currently reading Docherty by William McIlvanney.
Buddha Da by Anne Donovan
The Cutting Room by Louise Welsh
The Guns of Navarone by Alistair Maclean (assigned as school reading in Primary 7 for reasons still unknown)
Morvern Callar by Alan Warner
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
Swing Hammer Swing! by Jeff Torrington
To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh
The Trick is to Keep Breathing by Janice Galloway
The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks
Only 10! On my to-be-read list are:
Our Fathers by Andrew O'Hagan and The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner by James Hogg, and I'm currently reading Docherty by William McIlvanney.
6deargreenplace
Dang touchstones :( It was a wee while ago now, so I can't remember how the shortlist was selected. I suppose readers of The List may have suggested the titles.
Would like to get round to The House With The Green Shutters for sure, and Sunset Song since it was the winner. I know that these were taught in some schools - not mine.
Would like to get round to The House With The Green Shutters for sure, and Sunset Song since it was the winner. I know that these were taught in some schools - not mine.
7glabrous
be sure to let us know how you get on with Our Fathers, deargreenplace, I'm itching to talk about it wi anybody who's read it, or any of Andrew O'Hagan's writing.
8kicking_k
Hmmm. Yes, I'd question the Scottish-ness of several of the choices, too. Though there are several writers on there whose Scottishness I may merely have missed (such as de Quincey - I hadn't thought he was Scottish, but I'm happy to be corrected).
I suppose it's difficult to say what the criteria should be: is it enough to be born in Scotland (even if the author doesn't live there or write about it), or to set a novel there if the author is not Scottish-born? (And how does Heart of Darkness qualify on any terms?
I've only read 23, but then, as someone else said, there's a lot of 20th-century writing on there and I don't read as much modern fiction as I probably ought to. And I've frequently read other things by the same writers.
Behind the Scenes at the Museum (1995) Kate Atkinson (wonderful)
Black and blue (1997) Ian Rankin (I like The Falls better)
Confessions of an English Opium-Eater (1822) Thomas De Quincey (vertiginous)
The Coral Island (1858) R. M. Ballantyne (interesting, but very much of its time)
The Expedition of Humphry Clinker (1771) Tobias Smollett (fun but episodic)
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997) J.K. Rowling (who hasn't?)
Heart of Darkness (1902) Joseph Conrad (disappointing)
The Hound of the Baskervilles (1902) Arthur Conan Doyle
The House with the Green Shutters (1901) George Douglas Brown (like a Russian play)
King James Bible: Authorised Version (1611) Various
The Life of Samuel Johnson (1791) James Boswell
Madame Doubtfire (1987) Anne Fine (Goggle-Eyes was my favourite)
Mr Alfred, M.A. (1972) George Frie (depressing)
Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) George Orwell
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (1998) Alexander McCall Smith
The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner (1824) James Hogg (gothic!)
Sartor Resartus (1836) Thomas Carlyle (For college...)
The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886) Robert Louis Stevenson (I love Stevenson)
Sunset Song (1932) Lewis Grassic Gibbon
The Thirty-Nine Steps (1915) John Buchan (Why doesn't Hannay just stay in London?)
The Trick is to Keep Breathing (1989) Janice Galloway
The Wasp Factory (1984) Iain Banks (A bit teenage)
The White Bird Passes (1958) Jessie Kesson (Beautiful and sad)
The Wind in the Willows (1908) Kenneth Grahame
I can't say I'm exactly aching to read any of the ones I haven't, except The Golden Bough. Anybody got any favourites they'd like to promote?
I suppose it's difficult to say what the criteria should be: is it enough to be born in Scotland (even if the author doesn't live there or write about it), or to set a novel there if the author is not Scottish-born? (And how does Heart of Darkness qualify on any terms?
I've only read 23, but then, as someone else said, there's a lot of 20th-century writing on there and I don't read as much modern fiction as I probably ought to. And I've frequently read other things by the same writers.
Behind the Scenes at the Museum (1995) Kate Atkinson (wonderful)
Black and blue (1997) Ian Rankin (I like The Falls better)
Confessions of an English Opium-Eater (1822) Thomas De Quincey (vertiginous)
The Coral Island (1858) R. M. Ballantyne (interesting, but very much of its time)
The Expedition of Humphry Clinker (1771) Tobias Smollett (fun but episodic)
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997) J.K. Rowling (who hasn't?)
Heart of Darkness (1902) Joseph Conrad (disappointing)
The Hound of the Baskervilles (1902) Arthur Conan Doyle
The House with the Green Shutters (1901) George Douglas Brown (like a Russian play)
King James Bible: Authorised Version (1611) Various
The Life of Samuel Johnson (1791) James Boswell
Madame Doubtfire (1987) Anne Fine (Goggle-Eyes was my favourite)
Mr Alfred, M.A. (1972) George Frie (depressing)
Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) George Orwell
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (1998) Alexander McCall Smith
The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner (1824) James Hogg (gothic!)
Sartor Resartus (1836) Thomas Carlyle (For college...)
The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886) Robert Louis Stevenson (I love Stevenson)
Sunset Song (1932) Lewis Grassic Gibbon
The Thirty-Nine Steps (1915) John Buchan (Why doesn't Hannay just stay in London?)
The Trick is to Keep Breathing (1989) Janice Galloway
The Wasp Factory (1984) Iain Banks (A bit teenage)
The White Bird Passes (1958) Jessie Kesson (Beautiful and sad)
The Wind in the Willows (1908) Kenneth Grahame
I can't say I'm exactly aching to read any of the ones I haven't, except The Golden Bough. Anybody got any favourites they'd like to promote?
9aynar
This is too good a thread to be laying dormant, I think, so here's my contribution.
I have read:
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997) J.K. Rowling
The Hound of the Baskervilles (1902) Arthur Conan Doyle
Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) George Orwell
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (1998) Alexander McCall Smith
The Wasp Factory (1984) Iain Bank
Whisky Galore (1947) Compton Mackenzie
Only seven!
I have read other works by these authors than the ones in the list: Iain Crichton Smith, Anne Fine, Ian Rankin, Irvine Welsh. And I'm part-way through James Boswell's Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides.
And these are on my `to read' list, though I fancy plenty of the others too:
The Life of Samuel Johnson (1791) James Boswell
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1961) Muriel Spark
The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner (1824) James Hogg
The Cone-Gatherers (1955) Robin Jenkins
I have read:
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997) J.K. Rowling
The Hound of the Baskervilles (1902) Arthur Conan Doyle
Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) George Orwell
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (1998) Alexander McCall Smith
The Wasp Factory (1984) Iain Bank
Whisky Galore (1947) Compton Mackenzie
Only seven!
I have read other works by these authors than the ones in the list: Iain Crichton Smith, Anne Fine, Ian Rankin, Irvine Welsh. And I'm part-way through James Boswell's Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides.
And these are on my `to read' list, though I fancy plenty of the others too:
The Life of Samuel Johnson (1791) James Boswell
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1961) Muriel Spark
The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner (1824) James Hogg
The Cone-Gatherers (1955) Robin Jenkins
10antisyzygy
I've managed 24 although I don't read much fiction these days, and like kicking_k, not much modern stuff.
I'm looking out for a nice copy of Sartor Resartus
Incidentally, I added the complete list to common knowledge, so you can easily see your library mapped to it:
The List 100 Best Scottish Books
I'm looking out for a nice copy of Sartor Resartus
Incidentally, I added the complete list to common knowledge, so you can easily see your library mapped to it:
The List 100 Best Scottish Books
12MarianV
Waiting for Lindsay by Moira Forsyth is one of the best books I've ever read. I recommended it to my grief group.
(Thomas Dunne Books 2001)
(Thomas Dunne Books 2001)
13cjohn
From the list - books read -
Buddha Da (2003) Anne Donovan - recommend
The Cutting Room (2002) Louise Welsh - recommend
Grace Notes (1997) Bernard MacLaverty
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997) J.K. Rowling
Hotel World (2001) Ali Smith
Joseph Knight (2003) James Robertson
Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) George Orwell
One Fine Day in the Middle of the Night (1999) Christopher Brookmyre
Paradise (2004) AL Kennedy
The Thirty-Nine Steps (1915) John Buchan
Trainspotting (1993) Irvine Welsh
The Trick is to Keep Breathing (1989) Janice Galloway
Under the Skin (2000) Michel Faber
The White Bird Passes (1958) Jessie Kesson
Buddha Da (2003) Anne Donovan - recommend
The Cutting Room (2002) Louise Welsh - recommend
Grace Notes (1997) Bernard MacLaverty
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997) J.K. Rowling
Hotel World (2001) Ali Smith
Joseph Knight (2003) James Robertson
Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) George Orwell
One Fine Day in the Middle of the Night (1999) Christopher Brookmyre
Paradise (2004) AL Kennedy
The Thirty-Nine Steps (1915) John Buchan
Trainspotting (1993) Irvine Welsh
The Trick is to Keep Breathing (1989) Janice Galloway
Under the Skin (2000) Michel Faber
The White Bird Passes (1958) Jessie Kesson
14starrryeyes
ive only read 12, which is appalling for a scottish literature student;-(
15BillKennedy
I would say you should include the other two books in Lewis Grassic Gibbon's trilogy 'A Scot's Quair' : 'Grey Granite' and 'Cloud Howe'. Though 'Sunset Song' is the best of the three, they all should be read, IMHO.
16kirsty
#14 me too - I think I've read 16 but that might be because i think I should have read them
I'd also query the Scottishness of some of them. For example, Anne Fine and J K Rowling are English authors who moved to Scotland as adults. Alan Warner moved to Ireland to take advantage of the tax breaks (presumably) and write and I would query anyone who suggested that he was an Irish author.
I think Peter Pan should be included on the list.
I'd also query the Scottishness of some of them. For example, Anne Fine and J K Rowling are English authors who moved to Scotland as adults. Alan Warner moved to Ireland to take advantage of the tax breaks (presumably) and write and I would query anyone who suggested that he was an Irish author.
I think Peter Pan should be included on the list.