|
 |
Margaret Elphinstone |
|
|
|
|
|
||
 |
||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
 |
||
|
|
|
Welcome to the Website of Margaret ElphinstoneMargaret Elphinstone has published eight novels as well as short stories and poetry. Her fiction is mostly historical and is characterised by her portrayal of people on journeys to places on the edge – islands, frontiers - where cultures and ideas meet and evolve. AUTHOR HEADING FOR EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL BOOK FESTIVAL - AND HARBOURFRONT, TORONTOMargaret Elphinstone will be talking about her latest novel, The Gathering Night, at the 2009 Edinburgh International Book Festival - see details under 28 August below. She will also be appearing at The International Festival of Authors at Harbour Front, Toronto in October.The Gathering Night, set among the hunter-gatherers of Mesolithic Scotland, is a story of conflict, loss, love, adventure and devastating natural disaster. This pre-historical novel is set deep in our stone-age past, but resonates as a parable of our troubled planet 8000 years on. "This beguiling historical novel imagines the inner and emotional lives of Mesolithic-era humans …… Elphinstone's formidable depiction of nature is the greatest strength of this atmospheric novel." Anita Sethi, Independent on Sunday. Read the full review "...a meticulously detailed re-enactment of what life may well have been like in Mesolithic Scotland." Rebecca McQuillan. The Sunday Herald. Read the full review "...gripping in terms of plot...and a hugely evocative exploration of time and place." Doug Johnstone. The List. Read the full review Read more about researching a Mesolithic novel. The Gathering Night is published by Canongate Books. ISBN 9781847672889 'The Gathering Night' is being published in Italian and German. FORTHCOMING EVENTS6 August: Blackwell's Bookshop, Edinburgh. Margaret Elphinstone will be taking part in ‘Blackwell’s Writers at the Fringe' 6 -7.15 p.m. Blackwells say: "We hope to share a true snapshot of the best to be found within the Edinburgh Literary experience."17-22 August: Moniack Mhor Writers' Centre, Invernessshire. Margaret Elphinstone will be co-tutoring the 'Starting to Write a Novel' course with Ewan Morrison. This is an Arvon Foundation course. 28 August: Edinburgh International Book Festival Margaret Elphinstone will be appearing at the Edinburgh International Book Festival at 8.30 p.m. Tickets are on sale through the Edinburgh International Book Festival website. Saturday 5 September: Milngavie Book Festival 10.30 a.m. Margaret Elphinstone will be reading from The Gathering Night. October: Harbourfront, Toronto. Margaret Elphinstone will be appearing at hthe annual International Festival of Authors. The International Festival of Authors at Harbour Front, Toronto. Details to be published. Tuesday 3 November: North Bute Literary Society 7.30 p.m. Further information OTHER NOVELS IN PRINTAll of Margaret Elphinstone's novels are in print.Light, Voyageurs, Hy Brasil and The Sea Road are all published by Canongate Books. The Sea Road appears in '100 Best Scottish Books of All Time' produced by List Magazine. Gato is published by Sandstone Press for new and emergent adult readers. Margaret Elphinstone's three earliest novels, Islanders, A Sparrow's Flight and The Incomer or Clachanpluck, have all been republished by Kennedy & Boyd. EDINBURGH HISTORY OF SCOTTISH LITERATUREMargaret Elphinstone's writing is described as "assured, attractive, innovative" in 'The Edinburgh History of Scottish Literature'. Ian Campbell, in his chapter: ‘Disorientation of Place, Time and ‘Scottishness’: Conan Doyle, Linklater, Gunn, Mackay Brown and Elphinstone’ says:"Her work – assured, attractive, innovative – has the attraction of rarely offering the same pleasures twice, though certain themes recur. These include interest in the historic and mythical past, the Norse and Scandinavian invasions and influences on Scotland, a perceptible interest in the fantastic, a strong feeling for nature...... "Elphinstone’s characters often travel over huge distances: her world is one of expanding vision, an attempt to connect to a half-understood natural world, to understand the perplexities of human characters in affection as well as danger and stress. She has mastered the short story (An Apple From a Tree, 1991) and full-scale fantasy (Hy Brasil 2002). Voyageurs (2003) is a confident and convincing excursion into those who explored and settled eastern Canada, the settlers who fought climate, indigenous people and misunderstanding at home to carve out lives in a really new world. From: Ian Brown, The Edinburgh History of Scottish Literature Volume 3: Modern Transformations: New Identities (from 1918) Edinburgh University Press 2006. Contacts and LinksJOIN THE SHRINK CAMPAIGN! You can help save paper, save trees and save water. Find out more about the Shrink Campaign and make your pledge. |
|
|||||
|
|||||
|
