Excuse my dust: Nancy Morrison
"The Gowk Storm"; (an unexpected storm in early spring) is the story of the three Lockhart sisters living in 19th century Scotland in a remote Highland manse with their father, a minister, and his wife. Narrated by Lilibet, the youngest, it is the story of the two elder sisters, Julia and Emmy, and how the lives of all three are connected through desire and conflict. Julia is responsible, sensitive and capable and Emmy is quick tempered, wilful and intelligent. Two incidents in each of the girls’ lives as they approach womanhood highlight the rigid and patriarchal structure of the times and the harsh consequences they each face as a result of flouting the conventions of the rigid and judgemental community in which they live.
Brysson Morrison's other very readable novels, set partly in Glasgow and partly in the Highlands or on the fringe of the Highlands, include Breakers (1930); When the Wind Blows (1937); The Winnowing Years (1949), which won the first Frederick Niven Award; The Hidden Fairing (1951); and The Following Wind (1954).
Her interest in biography resulted in books on a variety of historical and literary figures, from Henry VIII and Mary Queen of Scots to Thomas and Jane Carlyle.
Other work includes:
The Private Life of Henry VIII: A Biography of His Six Queens
King's Quiver: The Last Three Tudors
They need no candle: Builders of Presbyterianism in Scotland (1500-1950)
The Prodigal Daughter
Mary Queen of Scots
Source: List.co.uk: 100 best Scottish Books of all Time, January 2005 (updated 13 July 2011)
* "No Letters, Please" is taken from Casual Columns: the Glasgow Herald Miscellany (George Outram, 1955).
Kate Neilson