The Diary of a Bookseller by Shaun Bythell

The Diary of a Bookseller by Shaun Bythell allows the reader to live vicariously a year in the life of a bookseller in Wigtown, Scotland’s famous book town.

The book is written in diary format but with all the interest and details of a novel. Bythell’s descriptions of his regular customers, his crazy assistants, and his everyday life in a small town are a rare and welcome peak into modern Scottish living.

Each day’s entry includes the number of customers, number of books ordered online, and the cash register total for the day. Bythell notes down his book buying escapades which range from visiting retirees in their middle class homes to trekking out to near-abandoned cottages with books covered in years of dust. One catches a glimpse of the hard work and stress involved in making a used bookstore actually profitable.

Several years ago I read Three Things You Need to Know about Rockets: A Real-Life Scottish Fairy Tale by Jessica Fox, a memoir about a young American woman who decides to go work in Wigtown at a used bookstore. Turns out it was Bythell’s bookstore and it further turns out Bythell and Fox fell in love. I never ended up recommending Fox’s book because I felt as though it failed to truly immerse one in Scottish life and, instead, immersed me in Fox’s crazy love life.

Bythell’s book tells a different love story — the story of an owner’s love for his books, his shop, his town, and his customers.

Travel Notes: If you are planning to travel to Wigtown, this is an excellent choice to read. Be sure to visit “The Bookshop” when you go! This is also a great choice for anyone wanting to read about modern, everyday life in Scotland.

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The Lady of the Lakes by Josi S. Kilpack

The Lady of the Lakes by Josi Kilpack is historical fiction recounting the love story of Sir Walter Scott, one of Scotland’s most famous authors.

This easy-to-read tale begins in Edinburgh in 1791. Walter Scott is attending the Sunday morning service at Greyfriar’s Kirk when he is besotted with a beautiful girl in the congregation. Walter connives to introduce himself to this girl after the service, discovers her name is Mina, and obtains permission to walk her home under his umbrella. Thus begins a friendship that would lead to something more as the years, and the letters, went by.

In the ensuing years Walter spends his time working hard to find a way to be able to support a wife and family and thus be in a position to propose to Mina. Meanwhile Walter and Mina’s families both get wind of the romance and see trouble ahead if the two, who are from different social backgrounds, pursue a permanent union. Eventually Mina is persuaded by her family, and the attentions of a wealthy young suitor, to abandon her first love and let Walter go. Blindsided by this misfortune, Walter is utterly crushed and grows despondent.

Mina soon marries her wealthy suitor and Walter is left wallowing in his grief. A year later Walter’s brother and a friend convince him to accompany them on a trip south to England to explore the Cumberland lakes. While staying in Gilsland, a small town near Carlisle, the men happen upon a dance at the hotel where they are staying. There they glimpse a captivating Frenchwoman who appears to be on her own. Thus begins a whirlwind week of getting to know Miss Charlotte Carpenter.

Walter is quite taken by Charlotte, but Charlotte realizes his heart is still mourning Mina. Urged by her maid, Charlotte leaves Gilsland suddenly for Carlisle and tells Walter not to follow her. The relationship seems to be over until Walter is given advice to pursue what might be growing in his heart. Walter leaves for Carlisle immediately.

By the time Walter reaches Charlotte in Carlisle he has devised a plan. If Charlotte will agree, they will spend the next fifteen days in each other’s company and at the end of that time come to a decision as to whether or not they are suitable for each other and should marry. Charlotte receives wise counsel from her hostess to proceed with this arrangement and willingly accepts Walter’s proposition. Thus commences fifteen days of dinners, horse rides, and trips to the theatre. As the time draws to a close Walter finds his heart no longer aching after Mina but has been drawn deeply to Charlotte. Will Charlotte reciprocate his feelings for her? Will she agree to marry him, leave England, and move to wild Scotland?

Kilpack is careful to note at the back of this book what parts of each chapter are based on facts and what parts are of her own imagination. This book makes for an enjoyable way to learn more about the life of Sir Walter Scott and the women who shaped his life.

Travel Notes: this book would be an excellent choice to read before a visit to Abbotsford, Sir Walter Scott’s home in the Scottish Borders.

 

The Flight of Gemma Hardy by Margot Livesey

The Flight of Gemma Hardy by Margot Livesey is a modern re-write of Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre set in twentieth century Scotland.

Livesey purposely follows the plot line of Jane Eyre quite closely for most of the book, including little details along the way that readers of Jane Eyre will recognize — like beginning the book with a near identical sentence and matching weather conditions to the beginning of Jane Eyre. In the opening of The Flight of Gemma Hardy we meet the orphaned Gemma as she is coping with the death of her uncle and the subsequent rejection by her aunt and cousins. Not surprisingly, Gemma is sent away to a nasty school for girls in the Borders of Scotland.

The time Gemma spends at the girls’ school is difficult and depressing. Despite the harsh circumstances, Gemma manages to get an education for herself and to make a friend or two along the way. Eventually the girls’ school closes and Gemma is forced to find a job to support herself. After sending out numerous inquires, Gemma finds employment as a tutor to a motherless child residing at Blackbird Hall in the Orkneys.

It is at this point in the book, when Gemma moves to the Orkney islands, that the descriptions of the Scottish countryside begin to appear and one really notices that this book is set in Scotland. Gemma heads to a farming community in the northeast part of the main island where Blackbird Hall is situated. Once at Blackbird Hall Gemma must win the trust of her charge, a wild youngster named Nell. Over time Gemma gets to know the other staff in the house and their families. Eventually the elusive Mr. Sinclair, Gemma’s true employer, comes to Blackbird Hall to visit his niece, Nell, and check on the progress she is making with her new governess.

Knowing the plot of Jane Eyre, we know that Gemma and Mr. Sinclair fall in love, and, of course, have a major falling out which results in Gemma’s moving away from the island back to the mainland. At this point the plot line diverges a bit from what we would expect. Gemma is taken in by two middle-aged women in the town of Aberfeldy and eventually finds tutoring work there. Like Jane Eyre she is drawn into a relationship with a young man but there is a different twist to how it unfolds. Part of this unfolding involves her deep interest in Iceland, the land of her mother’s birth, and her longing to return  there to see where she herself spent several years as a young child. Of course the book must end with a similar conclusion to that of Jane Eyre which means Gemma gets back together with Mr. Sinclair. Livesey throws in a little feminist-sounding twist to the very end bringing the story of Jane Eyre truly into the modern age.

“Meanwhile she punched down the dough and asked what the Borders were like. I told her about the soft, rounded hills, the remains of volcanoes — volcanoes in Scotland, she exclaimed — and the green fields. I described the abbeys the regular girls had visited on school trips, and Sir Walter Scott’s house.”

Travel Notes: this book would be ideal for reading while traveling in the Borders, during a visit to the Orkneys, or a stay in Perthshire.

My Heart’s in the Lowlands by Liz Curtis Higgs

 My Heart’s in the Lowlands by Liz Curtis Higgs is a virtual tour of some of the most beautiful and beloved places in southwest Scotland.

Liz Curtis Higgs is well-known for her historical christian fiction books set in Scotland (i.e. The Lowlands of Scotland series). In this non-fiction book Liz takes us on a 10-day journey with her around the countryside of Galloway visiting idyllic country villages, remote castles and churches, and even some of the places she used as settings in her fictional series. Liz is so enamored with the Scottish countryside that one can’t help but catch a bit of her excitement as you travel the pages of her book.

The tour begins in Glasgow as Liz collects a rental car and heads south past Sanquar to the tiny hamlet of Durisdeer. The sightseeing starts at the Durisdeer parish church and continues through the afternoon as Liz’s car winds through tiny villages and lands in the vicinity of Dumfries. We tag along as Liz gives us glimpses into each of the places she stops for a meal, throwing in Scottish vocabulary here and there to help foreigners get a feel for the words used in everyday life in the region of Galloway.

Each day is planned with historic sites, a museum or used bookstore, a handful of villages to delight any tourist, new foods to discover, and descriptions of the lush, magical countryside that enchants its visitors. Liz drives us to places like the Abbey Cottage Tearoom, the Shambellie House Museum of Costume, Drumcoltran Tower, the town of Castle Douglas, and Threave Gardens. Places full of history and overflowing with beauty appear on page after page. And Liz makes sure to tell the names of the roads she’s taking and other helpful travel info so people can find these places on their own!

Liz intersperses her touring with bits and pieces of history about the places she stops. She also includes quotes here and there from her novels. Those familiar with her books will be able to picture the places she was painting into her works of fiction. Notes are included in the back of the book so you can see what resources Liz used for her own travels (she returns to Scotland yearly) as well as for this book. She also mentions Scotland’s Gardens which is a charity listing all the private gardens open each year for a small entrance fee. It is worth checking their website for gardens in the area you may be traveling to.

Travel Notes: this would be a very helpful resource for planning a trip to the area of Galloway and Dumfries or for armchair travel in general.