INTERESTING READING AND VIEWING IDEAS FOR UPCOMING TRIPS
Here are some recommendations given by various and sundry Focus Folks. Please email Ellie with additions and we will post them here so everyone can enjoy!
Scotland
Guidebooks and Nonfiction:
Frommer’s Scotland.
Scotland Eyewitness.
Scotland for Dummies. Barry Shelby.
Fodor’s Scotland.
Foder’s See It Scotland.
Frommers Edinburgh and the Best of Scotland Day by Day.
Castles of Scotland. Thistle Guide.
Scotland the Best: The Guide Scots Trust. Peter Irvine.
Scotland Highlands and Islands. Footprint Travel Guide. “The highlands and islands of Scotland are Europe’s last great wilderness. There is o more beautiful place on earth.”
Scotland: A Concise History. Revised edition. F. MacLean and M. Linklater.
Curious Scotland: Tales from a Hidden History. George Rosie. This book is…An anthology of neglected episodes in Scottish history. The stories were chosen according to one principle: “Readdly? How interesting! I never knew.”
The Creaky Traveler in the North West Highlands of Scotland: A Journey for the
Mobile but not Active. Warren Rovatch. “I have never met a travel book with so much love in it – for nature, for the oddities encountered, for good food and for the prililedge of living on this planet. The book is deliciously readable.
Taste of Scotland: the Essence of Scottish Cooking. Carol Wilson.
A History of Scotland. J. D. Mackie.
Folksongs of England, Scotland and Wales. Norman Monalh, Wm. Cole and Ed. Ardizzone.
Songs of Scotland.
Unknown to History: A Story of the Captivity of Mary of Scotland. C. M. Yonge.
Queen of Scots: The True Story of Mary Stuart. John Guy.
The Kings and Queens of Scotland (Revealing History). Richard Oran.
Border Fury: England and Scotland at War 1296 – 1568. John Sadler.
The Forgotten Monarchy of Scotland. HRH Prince Michael of Albany.
Novels:
Whisky Galore, Compton Mackinzie. Based on a true story of a ship full of Whisky, the S/S Politician, that wrecked off the coast of Eriskey and the villagers who salvaged it. The locals gathered as many bottles as they could before the proper authorities arrived. Even today bottles are found in the sand or in the eas every other year. Hilarious highjinks.
The Crow Road. Iain Bank. Also can rent from Net Flix and is a BBC mini series.
44 Scotland Street. Alexander McCall Smith. Originally serialized in The Scotman.Drolly chronicles the lives of residents in an Edinburgh boarding house. First of a series of three novels about these residents. Expresso Tales is the second and Love Over Scotland is the third. Reviewed as “as addictive as any book Mcall Smith has written.”
Braveheart. Alun Armstrong.
Outlander. Diane Gabaldon.
To Scotland With Love; To Catch A Highlander. Karen Hawkins Lighthearted historical novels set in Scotland.
The Great Scot: A Novel of Robert the Bruce. Duncan A. Bruce.
Glencoe, A Romance of Scotland. Muireall Donald.
The Scottish Thistle. Cindy Vallar. Set in 28th century Scotland. “Step by step Vallar us on a journey through the Scottish highlands immersing us in the language, the culture, the customs and the magnificent surroundings of this powerful people.”
Highlander: Scotland the Brave. Jennifer Roberson. One of a series of Highlander novels. Very well received.
Lady of the Glen: A Novel of 17th Century Scotland and the Masacre of Glencoe. Jennifer Roberson.
The Da Vinci Code. Dan Brown. Climax occurs at Roslyn Chapel which we visit on our tour.
Macbeth. William Shakespeare. We visit the two castles featured in the play: Cawdor and Glamis.
Lady Macbeth: A Novel. Susan Fraser.
The novels of Sir Walter Scott. We visit his home of Abbotsford.
Ivanhoe Talisman
The Lady of the Lake The Pirate: A Romance of the Orkney Islands.
Rob Roy