News of the Dead by James Robertson Paperback Book 9780241986622

WINNER OF THE WALTER SCOTT PRIZE FOR HISTORICAL FICTIONTo tell the story of a country or a continent is surely a great and complex undertaking but the story of a quiet unnoticed place where there are few people fewer memories and almost no reliable records a place such as Glen Conach may actually be harder to piece together The hazier everything becomes the more whatever facts there are become entangled with myth and legend Deep in the mountains of northeast Scotland lies Glen Conach a place of secrets and memories fable and history In particular it holds the stories of three different eras separated by centuries yet linked by location by an ancient manuscript and by echoes that travel across timeIn ancient Pictland the Christian hermit Conach contemplates God and nature performs miracles and prepares himself for sacrifice Long after his death legends about him are set down by an unknown hand in the Book of ConachGenerations later in the early nineteenth century selfpromoting antiquarian Charles Kirkliston Gibb is drawn to the Glen and into the big house at the heart of its fragile communityIn the present day young Lachie whispers to Maja of a ghost he thinks he has seen...