On Scottish Books: Bob Cranwell
Notable writers and readers share five of their favorite Scottish titles.
To kick off my new series ‘On Scottish Books’, I’m honored to introduce one of my dearest friends, Bob Cranwell, whose insatiable curiosity, hospitality and generosity of spirit have had a profound impact on my life. Bob is an avid reader and gifted writer. He spent 17 years guiding expeditions to remote corners of the world, which he writes about on his blog Amateur Emigrant.
Take it away Bob!
My friend Lilly asked if I would suggest a short list of books about Scotland for Scottish Wanderlust Book Club, and I started puzzling through the panoply of possible candidates. I now live in northeast Scotland and had a Glaswegian father but to be honest I barely learned much from my dad – in his youth he’d cycled to Loch Lomond, and his choice of reading was short western novelettes. I’m not really a reader of fiction, so at least that narrowed the field of enquiry for me.
1: The Highland Clearances by John Prebble
Probably the first work which made a significant dent in my ignorance was The Highland Clearances by John Prebble. I quickly learned and absorbed the startling range and brutality visited upon large tracts of the country and its population. This period created a tremendous diaspora of Scots in the New World, creating a gulf of belonging across oceans. Many others struggled in exile to hard-scrabble North Sea coastlines, an environment in which few were equipped to prosper. There have been many critics over the years, with stories elucidated by further research and at times elaborated by wistful apologists and romantics. It is nevertheless a foundation to build on for anyone wishing to learn more about the broad swathe of later Scottish history.
2: Wild Voices by Mike Cawthorne
In recent years I came across a few books by Mike Cawthorne, mostly recounting remarkable journeys through the Highlands. One of them stands out for me, Wild Voices, which again involves crossing open ground and delving into landscapes, but this time linking closely with the experiences and lives of Scots writers. He leads the reader through the footsteps and ‘mindsteps’ of luminary writers such as Alisdair Maclean, Syd Scroggie, Neil Gunn among others. The account details foot and waterborne journeys with a keen eye on the visceral and ethereal lived experiences of people deeply anchored in the landscape.
3: The Living Mountain by Nan Shepherd
The Living Mountain by Nan Shepherd will forever be a touchstone for lovers of landscape anywhere, although it concentrates on the spiritual and regenerative powers of the Cairngorms which she knew in a near biblical sense. Few people at the time of her writing might have expected the combination of elemental and ethereal expression which she felt from her experiences, overturning any image of the demure Scottish schoolteacher which she was. The idea of allowing oneself to merge with the nature of the terrain she finds herself in was perhaps a tricky concept for many mountaineers, more accustomed to subjugation or submission, and arguably before its time. There is almost a sense of Magic Realism in her writing, or perhaps her contemporary, Aldous Huxley’s, Doors of Perception. The fact that it was cast aside in a drawer for decades before eventual publication and subsequent acclaim, adds to the distinct feeling of discovering hidden personal treasure.
4: Island Dreams by Gavin Francis
Gavin Francis, an Edinburgh doctor, adds another dimension of space in Island Dreams a wonderfully illustrated and pleasing itinerary through the security of shorelines. A variety of locations can allow us to discern a diversity of settlement, engagement and belonging that becomes so much more evident as we learn more about the importance of islands in Scots culture, at home and abroad. While walking within history and geography, there emerges an unsentimental romanticism deep in any Celtic heart.
5: Love of Country by Madeleine Bunting
I have only recently come across Madeleine Bunting who has produced a comprehensive chronicle of a journey through the Hebrides, Love of Country. I was expecting a series of discrete accounts, part guidebook-ish, part romance and part adventuring, each of which it turned out to be. But there is very much more than that. The very notion of attachment, belonging and grounding in a landscape features strongly, as she gathers in threads from every imaginable tangent to her subject. Scotland’s complex and tumultuous history, from the earliest hearths to near-current political machinations is brightly illuminated for the reader as a result of a keen and dispassionate eye for the importance to the nation’s evolution. She camps, strides, teeters on cliffs and small boats, encountering an eclectic range of individuals and learning their stories and genealogy, (including her own). If you only read one book to get a deeply felt account of what Scotland means, this is it.
6: Bonus: Small Steps with Paws and Hooves by Spud Talbot-Ponsonby
A bonus recommendation is a journey within a journey. Spud Talbot-Ponsonby, sets off on a remarkable trip Small Steps with Paws and Hooves with a draught pony, her very young son and a dog to follow age-old droving routes from the southern Cairngorms through the Angus Glens to Blairgowrie. Such a venture could surelycharm the heart of any lover of the outdoors. Alongside is an overarching story of Spud’s diagnosis of cancer, from which she subsequently died, and the account is interspersed with the poignant progression of her illness. In the midst of life . . .
Hope you enjoy them!
Bob Cranwell, AmateurEmigrant
Thank you so much Bob! And thank you all for reading. Stay tuned for future installments of ‘On Scottish Books’! And feel free to join Scottish Wanderlust Book Club on Facebook :)
Lilly
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