Island on the Edge of the World
The Story of St Kilda
Published on 30. March 2006
Book
Paperback/Softback
224 pages
978-1-84195-755-5 (ISBN)
Description
For more than 2000 years the people of St Kilda remained remote from the world. Its society was viable, even Utopian; but in the nineteenth century the island was discovered by missionaries, do-gooders and tourists, who brought money, disease and despotism. St Kildan culture gradually disintegrated and in 1930 the few remaining islanders asked to be evacuated.
Reviews / Votes
A story like a marvellous pebble, wet from the sea, strange and comic like all things out of step with time, sad as the old songs the women sang, splendidly told... * * Sunday Times * * A fascinating book ... Charles Maclean is an excellent writer ... he describes the story of St Kilda with powerful compassion. -- Magnus Magnusson What the St Kildan story, as told by Maclean, did for me was to reawaken my awe at the strangeness of our world. -- Will SelfMore details
Edition
Main
Language
English
Place of publication
Edinburgh
United Kingdom
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Illustrations
two 8page b&w sections on text paper
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 129 mm
Thickness: 14 mm
Weight
159 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-84195-755-5 (9781841957555)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
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05/2009
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Persons
Charles Maclean was born in 1946, eldest son of Sir Fitzroy Maclean of Strachur, Argyll. He was educated at Eton and Oxford. Before becoming a full-time writer he had a variety of jobs, including periods as a merchant seaman and as a cowboy; he also played in a rock and roll band.
In a diverse and international writing career, he has been on the staff of Vogue and the Ecologist. He has also written prose fiction, including The Pathetic Phallus (1977), The Watcher (1982) and The Silence (1996). In the mid-70s he spent two years writing and researching The Wolf Children, a true story of two girls found living with wolves in the jungles of Bengal and published to wide praise in 1977. He has also written a number of books on the landscape and culture of Scotland, including Malt Whisky (1997), Scottish Country (1992) and Romantic Scotland (2000).
In a diverse and international writing career, he has been on the staff of Vogue and the Ecologist. He has also written prose fiction, including The Pathetic Phallus (1977), The Watcher (1982) and The Silence (1996). In the mid-70s he spent two years writing and researching The Wolf Children, a true story of two girls found living with wolves in the jungles of Bengal and published to wide praise in 1977. He has also written a number of books on the landscape and culture of Scotland, including Malt Whisky (1997), Scottish Country (1992) and Romantic Scotland (2000).