Know the name of a writer who publishes (or has published) in Scottish Life magazine?
Asked by
Jeruba (
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September 30th, 2012
I subscribed to Scottish Life magazine for a year or two back in the nineties. (Don’t scoff, now, you guys in the U.K. I’m pretty far away and truly enjoyed the virtual visits when I couldn’t make a real one.)
There was either a series or a regular column written by a woman who lived in a remote, sparsely settled area, I think in the western isles. If I’m not mistaken, she lived in a stone cottage.
Again if I’m not mistaken, she was not native to the area but was learning to live in this somewhat forbidding yet beautiful place, loving it and writing about it as she became acclimated.
She wrote vivid descriptions of the landscape, the weather, the local population, and village life.
Can someone name the writer I’m thinking of? I’d like to see if she has written a book.
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8 Answers
It sounds like it could be Lillian Beckwith?
I’ll check out that name, @flutherother. Thanks. The name that my uncertain memory produced was Leslie something, so the L could be right.
I didn’t get the impression that the articles I’m recalling were a serialization of a previously published book, but it’s possible.
After a little checking, I kind of don’t think so. My recollection is that the writings were contemporaneous with her experiences: she was writing about the life she was living right then, in the mid to late 1990s, and not decades in the past.
Staying open to suggestions, though.
Are you sure it isn’t Kate Francis, who currently writes a column for them called Notes from the Isles? I found a reference to her in this book, which was published in 2001, to her column “Notes from the Outer Isles”, so I guess they changed the name of the column – but it looks like it might be the same person.
Am I sure? Not at all. I’m groping in the dark of a cloudy memory. I’ll check her out. Thanks!
[Edit] I think that’s it, @glacial. I seem to recognize that piece of woodcut-style art that accompanied the column. I’m not succeeding in finding books by this author or references to a long-running magazine column, but I think you have pointed me to the right person. Well done!
Excellent – I hope you have some luck finding more of her writing. I looked around a bit during my searches, and couldn’t find any books. Perhaps you’ll have to re-subscribe. :)
This is why I love fluther.
I sent a message to the editor of Scottish Life and asked.
@gailcalled, me too.
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