James Robertson (A life in writing: James Robertson | Books | The Guardian) has a special connection to Clydesdale. From 1993 to 1995 he was the first writer in residence at Hugh MacDiarmid’s house at Brownsbank, Candymill near Biggar.
Robertson has gone on to publish several novels, short stories and poetry collections. He was born in Sevenoaks, Kent but grew up in Bridge of Allan. The author has published seven novels: ‘The Fanatic‘, ‘Joseph Knight‘, ‘The Testament of Gideon Mack‘ (long listed for the 2006 Man Booker Prize), ‘And the Land Lay Still‘, ‘The Professor of Truth‘, ‘To be Continued….‘, ‘News of the Dead‘.
Robertson also runs an independent publishing company called Kettillonia (Kettillonia | New Scottish Writing), and is a co-founder (with Matthew Fitt and Susan Rennie) and general editor of the Scots language imprint Itchy Coo, which produces books in Scots for children and young people.
‘And the Land Lay Still‘ (2010) offers a beautifully written novel of intertwined stories across 688 pages. It amounts to a brilliant and multifaceted saga of Scottish life in the second half of the twentieth century. Scotland is seen through the eyes of natives and immigrants, journalists and politicians, drop-outs and spooks, all trying to make their way through a country in the throes of great and rapid change.
The novel’s narrative is shaped around the portfolio of the late photographer Angus Pendreich. His son Michael is involved in the establishment of a new exhibition of his renowned father’s work.
The book focuses on the characters presented in these photographs, which span post-war Scotland across geographies and social classes from the homeless to senior politicians. Their disparate stories present a collage that highlights the highs and lows of modern Scottish society
This novel was cited as highly influential during a discussion at The Edinburgh Book Festival 2024 (Scott Hames, Joyce McMillan & James Robertson: Scottish Writing After Devolution | Edinburgh International Book Festival (edbookfest.co.uk)). The topic was the health of cultural life in Scotland since devolution in 1999. It has been 25 years since the formation of the new Scottish Parliament.
If you wish to gain a deeper understanding of recent Scottish culture agreeably presented in fiction, this novel by James Robertson is for you.
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688 pages in Hamish Hamilton
First published 2010
ISBN: 9780241143568
