To see what others have said about The Hidden Fires, follow the links below. If you’ve read it, please do add your own review on Amazon, Goodreads or other retailer sites. If you would like to feature the book in your publication, site or broadcast, please contact Polygon Books for a review copy.
REVIEWS
26 May 2023 ‘… vividly perceived and powerfully expressed…’ John Dempster Inverness Courier
April edition of Scottish Field – 5 star review: ‘…a pilgrimage that is touching, elemental, brave and deeply affecting.’
10 March 2023 “This book will sit comfortably and deservedly on the same shelf as Nan Shepherd’s masterpiece.” Alan Massie The Scotsman
March 2023 “An evocative and immersive slice of travel writing about how the beauty and grandeur of the Cairngorms spoke to her soul.” Waterstones
27 Feb 2023 “A truly inspiring and beautiful book about the Cairngorm mountains, our natural world, and beyond.” Star Book, Review by Liz Robinson, Love Reading
9 Jan 2023 “Glover writes so well about mountains.” David Robinson, Scotsman Ones to Watch in 2023
INTERVIEWS, FEATURES & BROADCASTS
16 April 2023 Conversation with Breege Smyth on Sunday Morning Breakfast with Breege for Oban FM. Search here under that title and date. We are at 21 minutes in.
14 April 2023 Conversation with Nicola Meighan on The Afternoon Show for BBC Radio Scotland. We’re at 1:43.
10 April 2023 Conversation with Joanna Penn on The Creative Penn podcast about Writing Nature Memoir (The full transcript is also available there to read)
13 March 2023 Talking about Nan Shepherd with Paul Murton on Grand Tours of Scotland’s Rivers Series 2, Episode 1 (My segment is right at the beginning)
12 March 2023 “As I follow her in recounting the ‘grace accorded from the mountain’, I sense her blessing.” My article in the Courage issue of Books from Scotland
11 March 2023 “On my first ascent of the great mountain, I could barely believe how benign she was.” Extract from The Hidden Fires about Braeriach WalkHighlands
8 March 2023 “Like Shepherd, my love of mountains is as old as my memory, but the ground of my childhood was the Himalayas.” Remembering Nan Shepherd on International Women’s Day – Cairngorms Voices – Cairngorms National Park
02 March 2023 Hidden Fires Book Launch Strathspey & Badenoch Herald
26 Feb 2023 Interview with Tony Kearney and Lise Wortley on Radio Scotland Sunday Morning at 1:40
26 Feb 2023 “Setting out on the journey not knowing the destination.” Interview with Alice Hinds Sunday Post
18 Feb 2023 “These peaks were her friends and she loved them.” Profile by Neil Drysdale Press & Journal
Feb 2023 “Nan Shepherd: Exhibition to mark 130th birthday of environmentalist” The National
Here’s a (growing) list of Scots and Gaelic words that appear in my writing and sometimes baffle folks from other parts. If you discover more that need definitions, do let me know.
ben – mountain or hill
cairn – pile of stones, often at a summit, though also marking a pass or waypoint
corrie – a steep-sided hollow at the head of a valley or on a mountainside; a glacial cirque
dreich – dreary, bleak (especially of weather)
glen – valley
loch – lake
lochan – small lake
smirr – fine drifting rain or drizzle, so thin it is almost mist
strath – a large wide valley, typically a river valley
These are the main characters from my Cairngorms-set novel, Of Stone and Sky, roughly in order of appearance or importance.
Mo Smith – primary narrator, minister turned publican, like a sister to Colvin & Sorley
Colvin Munro – a Highland shepherd, born & raised on the farm of Rowancraig Estate, disappears
Sorley Munro – his younger brother, left at 17 to make his fortune in the City, secondary narrator
Agnes Munro – their mother, a Highland Traveller by heritage, married into the farm
Gideon Munro ‘Gid’ – their father, a shepherd on Rowancraig all his life apart from service in WW2
Donald Munro – Gid’s father
Phamie Munro – Gid’s mother
Beulah Duggins – Gid’s sister, housekeeper at Rowancraig Estate
Archie Duggins – from Yorkshire, gamekeeper on Rowancraig Estate, Beulah’s husband
Liana Munro – Colvin’s wife
Tess Munro – Colvin & Liana’s daughter
Alex Munro – Colvin & Liana’s son
Dougie MacPherson ‘Mr Mac’ – Gid’s best friend, forester and ecologist
Margaret MacPherson ‘Mrs Mac’ – Dougie’s wife and friend to Agnes
Fachie MacPherson – Dougie’s son and Colvin’s best friend
Lord Edgar Mackintosh – owner of Rowancraig Estate, the laird
Kirat Aggarwal – wealthy Malaysian American businessman
Vivian Aggarwal ‘Viv’ – English, Kirat’s wife
Rahesh Aggarwal – Kirat & Viv’s son, a lawyer
Minor characters:
Nellie Pegg – one time maid at Rowancraig House
Annabelle – Sorley’s ex-girlfriend
Carrick Devlin – Sorley’s boss in Sydney
Major Walter Hoare-Cressington ‘ Watty’ – owner of Logie Estate, south of Rowancraig
Lady Miranda Hoare-Cressington – Watty’s wife
Plus assorted even-more-minor characters
To see what others have said about Of Stone and Sky, follow the links below. If you’ve read it, please do add your own review on Amazon, Goodreads or other retailer sites. If you would like to feature the book in your publication, site or broadcast, please contact Polygon Books for a review copy.
AWARDS
Book of the Year 2021 – Bookmark Festival Article in The Herald
Longlisted for the Highland Book Prize 2021
REVIEWS
05 May 2023 “There is a very strong spiritual strain running through the book… giving it a powerful redemptive theme.” Rev Prof Ian Bradley in The Church Times
19 Feb 2022 “Unfolds impressively and with a sweeping scope, dispelling romantic notions of the Highlands to acknowledge its material realities, and doing it through diverse, well-developed characters, before capping it with a satisfying ending.” The Herald
05 Aug 2021 “It’s honestly one of the best books I’ve read, outstanding Scottish literary fiction and a real contender for my book of the year.” Joanne Baird of the Portobello Book Blog
06 June 2021 “It’s immensely readable – and overflowing with grace.” John Dempster for the Inverness Courier (& other Highland News Group papers)
15 May 2021 “I adored the writing: it’s a gorgeous, poetic story full of big themes: love, grief, ecology, politics, history and community… One of my favourite books ever.” Sarah for ScotLitDaily
May 2021 “With the most wonderful blend of stark plot lines mixed with richly descriptive detailing, this is a beautifully readable novel.” Liz Robinson for LoveReading website
Spring 2021 “Ranks with the finest of nature writing.” Neil Reid for Scottish Mountaineer magazine
3 May 2021 “A book which explores love, both the love of people for one another – brothers, youngsters, couples – and love of the place in which they live.” Vee Walker on her blog
21 April 2021 “Of Stone And Sky is a rich stew of a novel, one with a Victorian complexity of plot, a family saga which is also a socio-economic survey of Highlands history over almost 300 years… A considerable achievement.” Alan Massie for The Scotsman newspaper
INTERVIEWS, FEATURES & BROADCASTS
05 May 2023 The Church Times podcast interview with Rev Prof Ian Bradley
22 April 2022 On Northern Bibliosphere podcast: Land, Communities & Identities
June 2021 My article on Society of Authors in Scotland blog: On the Trail of the Lost Shepherd
26 June 2021 Best Summer Reads – Susan Swarbrick for Herald Scotland
May 2021 Feature by Dawn Geddes in The Scots Magazine
22 May 2021 Interview with Nora McElhone for Dundee Courier
May 2021 Conversation on John Burns Podcast
2 May 2021 Article by me for the Sunday Post about my relationship with the Cairngorms
23 Feb 2021 Feature on Nan Shepherd in Dundee Courier by Gayle Ritchie including section on me
Below are written sources that I drew from in my research for the novel Of Stone and Sky. My greatest sources, however, were the people who live and work in this area and who so generously shared their stories with me. They are included in the acknowledgements in the book.
LOCAL HISTORY & CULTURE
Bishop, Bruce, Lost Badenoch & Strathspey
Forestry Commission Scotland, Glenmore & Rothiemurchus in the 20th Glen, Ann, Old Kingussie and Badenoch
Grant, I.F., An Old Highland Farm; Highland Folk Ways
Gray, Affleck, Legends of the Cairngorms
Goodall, Steve, People of the Moor and Strath; People of the Clachans; People of Conviction, Rebellion and Enlightenment; People of the Railways and Village
Gunn, Donald & Spankie, Mari, The Highland Clearances
Macdonald, Fiona, The History of Scotland for Children
MacPherson, Sandra, A Strange & Wild Place
Marshall, Meryl, Glen Feshie, The History & Archaeology of a Highland Glen
Rennie, James Alan, Romantic Strathspey, Its Lands, Clans & Legends
Russell, Helen, The Past Around Us: History of the Parish of Alvie & Insh
Century
Scarlett, Meta, In the Glens Where I was Young
Sinton, Thomas, minister of Dores, The Poetry of Badenoch
Taylor, John, The Wild Black Region
LANDSCAPE & ENVIRONMENT
Barr, Donald & Brian, The Spey, From Source to Sea
Davies, John, The Scottish Forester
McIntosh, Alastair, Soil and Soul; Rekindling Community
Monbiot, George, Feral
Shepherd, Nan, The Living Mountain
SNH, Scotland, The Creation of its Natural Landscape
LAND OWNERSHIP & REFORM
Hunter Prof, James, On the Other Side of Sorrow; From the Low Tide of the Sea to the Highest Mountain Tops; The Making of the Crofting Community
Wightman, Andy, The Poor Had No Lawyers: Who Owns Scotland (And How They Got it)
ESTATES & FIELD SPORTS
Eden, Ronald, Going to the Moors
The Field magazine
Williamson, Jamie, History & Challenges of Running a Highland Estate in Badenoch
SHEEP FARMING
Clarke, Reay, Two Hundred Years of Farming in Sutherland
Duncan, Tom, Magic Moments, Four Seasons on a Scottish Hill Farm
Rebanks, James, The Shepherd’s Life, A Tale of the Lake District
Slimon, Campbell, Stells, Stools, Strupag: A personal reminiscence of sheep, shepherding, farming and the social activities of a Highland Parish
Thomson, Iain R., Isolation Shepherd
TRAVELLERS
Documents from the Highland Folk Museum
Neat, Timothy, The Summer Walkers, Travelling People & Pearl Fishers in the Highlands of Scotland
Smith, Jess, Jessie’s Journey
Williamson, Duncan, Fireside Tales of the Traveller Children
BIRDS
Dennis, Roy, Birds of Badenoch & Strathspey
RSPB Handbook of British Birds
FICTION
Fletcher, Susan, Corrag
Gunn, Neil, Highland River; Butchers Broom; The Silver Darlings
Jenkins, Robin, The Cone Gatherers
POETRY
MacCaig, Norman
MacLean, Sorley
DRAMA
McGrath, John, The Cheviot, the Stag & the Black, Black Oil
DOCUMENTS
Cairngorms Nature Action Plan 2013-2018
Stronach’s Short History of Agricultural Tenancy Legislation
Summary of Land Reform Acts 1999-2003
432:50 SAC Land Reform Paper – July 2013
The Land of Scotland and the Common Good – May 2014
Summary of Land Reform Review Group Report – 23 May 2014
Land Reform in Scotland: Final Report Mar 2015
EA & HTC Submission to RACCEE Committee
Alastair McIntosh’s letter to Land Reform Team Feb 2015
Consultation on the Future of Land Reform – Analysis of Responses , 2015