
The Loch of the Bees
Donald S. Murray(Author)
Saraband / Contraband (Publisher)
Published on 12. March 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
288 pages
978-1-916812-63-5 (ISBN)
Description
From the author of the prizewinning As the Women Lay Dreaming comes an evocative and deeply original novel that reimagines the lives of Hebrideans across the centuries, sweeping from the eighth century to the present day.
Interlinked stories unfold across generations, layered like blankets of peat, where fragments of earlier lives lie preserved and later resurface: a sword hidden by a Viking raider; a rosary left behind in a place of sanctuary by a troubled priest.
Past struggles, betrayals, loves and losses reverberate in the lives of modern islanders, woven and distilled by the legacies of the Clearances and devastating wars. Again and again, men and women return to the beehive-shaped stone shelter on a tiny island at the edge of the Loch of the Bees - a place of refuge, memory and renewal.
Here, the land keeps its secrets, and time curves back on itself, as the living find connection with those who came before.
Interlinked stories unfold across generations, layered like blankets of peat, where fragments of earlier lives lie preserved and later resurface: a sword hidden by a Viking raider; a rosary left behind in a place of sanctuary by a troubled priest.
Past struggles, betrayals, loves and losses reverberate in the lives of modern islanders, woven and distilled by the legacies of the Clearances and devastating wars. Again and again, men and women return to the beehive-shaped stone shelter on a tiny island at the edge of the Loch of the Bees - a place of refuge, memory and renewal.
Here, the land keeps its secrets, and time curves back on itself, as the living find connection with those who came before.
Reviews / Votes
'A beautiful and bittersweet portrait of an extraordinary place.' -- Antonia Senior, The Times 'The past's current flows through the characters in his fiction so strongly that it almost becomes the story itself.' -- David Robinson, Books from Scotland 'Thoughtful and captivating.' -- Cathy MacDonald, Stornoway GazetteMore details
Edition
Paperback original
Language
English
Place of publication
Salford
United Kingdom
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 196 mm
Width: 128 mm
Thickness: 21 mm
Weight
202 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-916812-63-5 (9781916812635)
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
Person
Writer and poet Donald S Murray is an Honorary Fellow of the Association for Scottish Literature who has won the Society of Authors' Paul Torday Memorial Prize (2012, for As the Women Lay Dreaming) and the Callum Macdonald Memorial Award (2021), among many awards for his historical fiction, creative non-fiction and poems. His critically acclaimed books bring to life the culture and nature of the Scottish islands, and he appears regularly on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio Scotland and as a live performer.