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Hawkfall and Other Stories
This collection of eleven stories, first published by The Hogarth Press in 1974, demonstrates the full range of George Mackay Brown's literary talent. George Mackay Brown was steeped in the life and traditions of Orkney, a world set firmly between the sea and the sky, where time has an altogether different nature and significance from the rest of the world.
'In Orkney,' wrote Edwin Muir, 'the lives of living men turn into legend.' The rich history of the islands – the succession of Neolithic man, Pict, Norsemen, Scot – leaves its impression upon the life of modern Orkney and is reflected in this finely wrought collection. Mingling past and present, the human world and the spiritual, George Mackay Brown brings together both the modern islanders and the Orcadians of centuries past, for the same lineaments are discernable in both.
'Hawkfall', the central story, traces the vicissitudes, violence and hypocrisies which recur over many generations; in 'The Drowned Rose', the ghosts of dead lovers, still in love with the things of this world, mix with the living, while 'Sealskin' explored the relationship between legend, art and life. All stories are richly entertaining, poignant and moving, their universal themes realized in the context of their unique island setting.
'In Orkney,' wrote Edwin Muir, 'the lives of living men turn into legend.' The rich history of the islands – the succession of Neolithic man, Pict, Norsemen, Scot – leaves its impression upon the life of modern Orkney and is reflected in this finely wrought collection. Mingling past and present, the human world and the spiritual, George Mackay Brown brings together both the modern islanders and the Orcadians of centuries past, for the same lineaments are discernable in both.
'Hawkfall', the central story, traces the vicissitudes, violence and hypocrisies which recur over many generations; in 'The Drowned Rose', the ghosts of dead lovers, still in love with the things of this world, mix with the living, while 'Sealskin' explored the relationship between legend, art and life. All stories are richly entertaining, poignant and moving, their universal themes realized in the context of their unique island setting.
212 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1974
3 people are currently reading
134 people want to read
About the author
George Mackay Brown
183 books101 followersGeorge Mackay Brown, the poet, novelist and dramatist, spent his life living in and documenting the Orkney Isles.
A bout of severe measles at the age of 12 became the basis for recurring health problems throughout his life. Uncertain as to his future, he remained in education until 1940, a year which brought with it a growing reality of the war, and the unexpected death of his father. The following year he was diagnosed with (then incurable) Pulmonary Tuberculosis and spent six months in hospital in Kirkwall, Orkney's main town.
Around this time, he began writing poetry, and also prose for the Orkney Herald for which he became Stromness Correspondent, reporting events such as the switching on of the electricity grid in 1947. In 1950 he met the poet Edwin Muir, a fellow Orcadian, who recognised Mackay Brown's talent for writing, and would become his literary tutor and mentor at Newbattle Abbey College, in Midlothian, which he attended in 1951-2. Recurring TB forced Mackay Brown to spend the following year in hospital, but his experience at Newbattle spurred him to apply to Edinburgh University, to read English Literature, returning to do post-graduate work on Gerard Manley Hopkins.
In later life Mackay Brown rarely left Orkney. He turned to writing full-time, publishing his first collection of poetry, The Storm, in 1954. His writing explored life on Orkney, and the history and traditions which make up Orkney's distinct cultural identity. Many of his works are concerned with protecting Orkney's cultural heritage from the relentless march of progress and the loss of myth and archaic ritual in the modern world. Reflecting this, his best known work is Greenvoe (1972), in which the permanence of island life is threatened by 'Black Star', a mysterious nuclear development.
Mackay Brown's literary reputation grew steadily. He received an OBE in 1974 and was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1977, in addition to gaining several honorary degrees. His final novel, Beside the Ocean of Time (1994) was Booker Prize shortlisted and judged Scottish Book of the Year by the Saltire Society. Mackay Brown died in his home town of Stromness on 13th April 1996.
He produced several poetry collections, five novels, eight collections of short stories and two poem-plays, as well as non-fiction portraits of Orkney, an autobiography, For the Islands I Sing (1997), and published journalism.
Read more at:
http://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org....
A bout of severe measles at the age of 12 became the basis for recurring health problems throughout his life. Uncertain as to his future, he remained in education until 1940, a year which brought with it a growing reality of the war, and the unexpected death of his father. The following year he was diagnosed with (then incurable) Pulmonary Tuberculosis and spent six months in hospital in Kirkwall, Orkney's main town.
Around this time, he began writing poetry, and also prose for the Orkney Herald for which he became Stromness Correspondent, reporting events such as the switching on of the electricity grid in 1947. In 1950 he met the poet Edwin Muir, a fellow Orcadian, who recognised Mackay Brown's talent for writing, and would become his literary tutor and mentor at Newbattle Abbey College, in Midlothian, which he attended in 1951-2. Recurring TB forced Mackay Brown to spend the following year in hospital, but his experience at Newbattle spurred him to apply to Edinburgh University, to read English Literature, returning to do post-graduate work on Gerard Manley Hopkins.
In later life Mackay Brown rarely left Orkney. He turned to writing full-time, publishing his first collection of poetry, The Storm, in 1954. His writing explored life on Orkney, and the history and traditions which make up Orkney's distinct cultural identity. Many of his works are concerned with protecting Orkney's cultural heritage from the relentless march of progress and the loss of myth and archaic ritual in the modern world. Reflecting this, his best known work is Greenvoe (1972), in which the permanence of island life is threatened by 'Black Star', a mysterious nuclear development.
Mackay Brown's literary reputation grew steadily. He received an OBE in 1974 and was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1977, in addition to gaining several honorary degrees. His final novel, Beside the Ocean of Time (1994) was Booker Prize shortlisted and judged Scottish Book of the Year by the Saltire Society. Mackay Brown died in his home town of Stromness on 13th April 1996.
He produced several poetry collections, five novels, eight collections of short stories and two poem-plays, as well as non-fiction portraits of Orkney, an autobiography, For the Islands I Sing (1997), and published journalism.
Read more at:
http://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org....
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
August 8, 2025
George Mackay Brown is one of my favorite twentieth century authors. He was born and died in Orkney but spent time in Edinburgh and other places. I haven’t read his poetry but hope to sometime. His prose is poetic.
This is a set of short stories linked by a setting in Orkney and the nature of people there. It begins in a Neolithic era where people lived in ways not completely known to us. How exactly did they live and what was their religion like? Brown portrays that in a very imaginative way. The stories proceed in time from there, often using the same characters and families. There is a Norse period, a catholic period, a Church of Scotland period and more modern times. People are described as constant, sometimes brutal, sometimes kind, but always solid. Even though Brown wrote in the twentieth century there is something in his beautiful prose that suggests saga to me.
This is a set of short stories linked by a setting in Orkney and the nature of people there. It begins in a Neolithic era where people lived in ways not completely known to us. How exactly did they live and what was their religion like? Brown portrays that in a very imaginative way. The stories proceed in time from there, often using the same characters and families. There is a Norse period, a catholic period, a Church of Scotland period and more modern times. People are described as constant, sometimes brutal, sometimes kind, but always solid. Even though Brown wrote in the twentieth century there is something in his beautiful prose that suggests saga to me.
August 9, 2016
This is the fourth book I have read by George Mackay Brown, and although there is quite a lot of common ground between them, they all add something to the whole. His writing is firmly rooted in the history and society of the Orkneys. He is a master storyteller, equally adept with historical legends, folklore and personal stories that give a deep insight into the largely lost world of the islanders.
August 25, 2017
This was a gorgeous, slow, thoughtful collection of short stories that really explored human nature in a way that made such great use of Orkney's almost mournful setting. Some of the twists and turns were so unexpected, and I loved how matter of fact yet so evocative Brown's writing is. There were some passages that really resonated with me and I think I could read the collection over and over and still discover new things in it. At their heart every story is so wonderfully human, made all the more stark by the small village settings. This is a collection of belonging, renewal and remembrance, and it was really beautiful to read.
My favourite story was probably The Drowned Rose, and perhaps The Interrogator, but one of my favourite passages was in The Cinquefoil. Would really really recommend - I'm so glad I picked it up on a whim!
My favourite story was probably The Drowned Rose, and perhaps The Interrogator, but one of my favourite passages was in The Cinquefoil. Would really really recommend - I'm so glad I picked it up on a whim!
July 31, 2015
Not so much short stories as a collection of Orcadian fables based on historical events or folk stories. I'd probably take this book with me if I was visiting Orkney again as it would bring some of the historical sites to life. It didn't bowl me over though.
September 15, 2025
A few years ago I bought a copy of a book called 'My Favourite Stories of Scotland', a collection of short stories chosen by John Laurie. I really enjoyed it, particularly the story of a dog's life called 'Rab and his friends'. It took me to a place I'd never been, amongst people I'd never known, and the stories in 'Hawkfall' have a very similar effect.
I have never come across this author before (he was recommended by a Goodreads member) but I really like the pace, tone and style of his writing - similar to W.W. Jacobs in that he knows his subject well and doesn't try anything elaborate, just plain tales of ordinary people and their lives (with perhaps just a hint of the supernatural thrown in now and then for good measure).
I have never come across this author before (he was recommended by a Goodreads member) but I really like the pace, tone and style of his writing - similar to W.W. Jacobs in that he knows his subject well and doesn't try anything elaborate, just plain tales of ordinary people and their lives (with perhaps just a hint of the supernatural thrown in now and then for good measure).
July 29, 2023
The title story was a bit violent, but I'm so glad I stuck with it because the rest of the stories were not and were beautiful and unusual.
February 19, 2019
Hawkfall-windows of Orkney life over the ages, from the Neolithic to 20th century 5
The Fires of Christmas-two bloody recorded events, a century apart. 6
Tithonus-fragments from a Laird's diary, chronicling the decline of an island and a girl by the name of Thora 9
The Fight At Greenay-trouble in an alehouse. 7
The Cinquefoil-the journey of a minister from the church to becoming a fisherman and father. 9
The Burning Harp-two and a half page story of the burning of a house and those caught up inside. 7
Sealskin-the tale of a selfie, and the human child she bore 8
The Girl-a girl looks out to sea while below on the beach fisherman talk and work. 8
The Drowned Rose-An island’s new teacher encounters the ghost of his predecessor. 10
The Tarn and the Rosary-the story of Colm, from boy to adult writer 8
The Interrogator-a man looking for the answer to a girl’s disappearance learns the truth from her restless spirit. 7
The Fires of Christmas-two bloody recorded events, a century apart. 6
Tithonus-fragments from a Laird's diary, chronicling the decline of an island and a girl by the name of Thora 9
The Fight At Greenay-trouble in an alehouse. 7
The Cinquefoil-the journey of a minister from the church to becoming a fisherman and father. 9
The Burning Harp-two and a half page story of the burning of a house and those caught up inside. 7
Sealskin-the tale of a selfie, and the human child she bore 8
The Girl-a girl looks out to sea while below on the beach fisherman talk and work. 8
The Drowned Rose-An island’s new teacher encounters the ghost of his predecessor. 10
The Tarn and the Rosary-the story of Colm, from boy to adult writer 8
The Interrogator-a man looking for the answer to a girl’s disappearance learns the truth from her restless spirit. 7
December 29, 2021
This a collection of stories all set in the author’s homelands of Orkney. Each is a beautifully rendered snapshot of life in those Northern islands
The title story, Hawkfall, is told in five parts, illustrating the history of Orkney in stages, showing aspects of life - and death - there from ancient times through those of the Vikings, the brutal, rapacious Earl of Birsay, the Napoleonic Wars and the early twentieth century.
The Fires of Christmas relates two historical violent confrontations in the Great Hall of Ophrir, which occurred eighty nine years apart.
The subtitle of Tithonus, Fragments from the diary of a Laird, outlines its structure. The Laird in question had inherited the Hall (a big house) on Torsay from his great uncle, along with two hundred pounds a year. By the end of the story, among many other changes, that sum is exiguous and the Hall is falling apart. It is his interactions with the locals that have most attention, particularly those with the schoolmaster, the Minister, the local gossip and Thora Garth, the only child of Armingert and Maurice, arriving after twenty-one years of marriage, who later causes a scandal by jilting her fiancé and shacking up with a ferryman. The tale has a neat twist at the end.
The Fight at Greenay occurred after the men of Harray, on their way to the sea to harvest seaweed to use as manure, had been insulted by the men of Birsay, reluctant to let strangers across their lands, in the halfway inn where the Harraymen had stopped for refreshment.
The Cinquefoil is told in five parts (Unpopular Fisherman, The Minister and the Girl, A Friday of Rain, Seed, Dust, Star and Writings,) in which are laid out the various relationships over time of the narrators of each and their acquaintances/friends/lovers. As a result it encapsulates the closeness and complexity of island life as a microcosm of life in general.
The Burning Harp is described as a story for the eightieth birthday of Neil Gunn. In 1135 a cottage is set on fire by intruders, who decide to let out, in turn, children and servants, a priest and finally a poet whose singing they heard and recognise as that of Niall of Dunbeath. (His songs mirror those of Gunn’s stories.)
To anyone familiar with Scottish folklore Sealskin’s title tells the reader more or less all. It is impeccably told though. A man finds a sealskin on the beach and stores it in his barn. A day or so later encounters a naked woman swimming by the shore. She has no knowledge of the language and he takes her in; to the great ire of his mother. Marriage and children ensue. Years later he discovers the skin again and the inevitable happens. An afterword mentions the tale was inspired by a famed Orkney musician, Magnus Olafson.
The Girl spends an afternoon lazing on the sea-bank almost in earshot of a group of men gossiping while repairing fishing nets and such, till she hears the approaching sound of a motor-bike.
In The Drowned Rose, William Reynolds, the new schoolmaster on Quoylay, is visited on his first night on the island by a young woman in a red dress, looking for a man named John. Reynolds befriends the local minister, Donald Barr, who refuses to elaborate on the woman’s history. She had been the previous schoolmistress, Sarah McKillop, well remembered by her pupils, and it is only a spiteful neighbour called Henrickson who reveals her tragic end, taking great relish in describing what he regards as the scandalous goings on which preceded it and why the islander shad resolved on a male as her successor.
The Tarn and the Rosary shows episodes in the life of Colm, a writer, from his grandfather’s death, through his first trip to the small Loch Tumishun in the centre of the island of Norday, the burgeoning of his confidence and aspirations when his first composition is praised by his teacher, his overhearing a group of men bemoaning the superstitions of Catholics, to his sojourn in Edinburgh trying to write but also attending mass. It’s an almost haunting evocation of Northern Island life.
The Interrogator has set out from Leith to Norday to question the locals about the death of Vera Paulson, found in the sea a month after she disappeared. None of them is very forthcoming. When the girl herself appears – as a ghost – her story does not quite match with any of theirs.
The title story, Hawkfall, is told in five parts, illustrating the history of Orkney in stages, showing aspects of life - and death - there from ancient times through those of the Vikings, the brutal, rapacious Earl of Birsay, the Napoleonic Wars and the early twentieth century.
The Fires of Christmas relates two historical violent confrontations in the Great Hall of Ophrir, which occurred eighty nine years apart.
The subtitle of Tithonus, Fragments from the diary of a Laird, outlines its structure. The Laird in question had inherited the Hall (a big house) on Torsay from his great uncle, along with two hundred pounds a year. By the end of the story, among many other changes, that sum is exiguous and the Hall is falling apart. It is his interactions with the locals that have most attention, particularly those with the schoolmaster, the Minister, the local gossip and Thora Garth, the only child of Armingert and Maurice, arriving after twenty-one years of marriage, who later causes a scandal by jilting her fiancé and shacking up with a ferryman. The tale has a neat twist at the end.
The Fight at Greenay occurred after the men of Harray, on their way to the sea to harvest seaweed to use as manure, had been insulted by the men of Birsay, reluctant to let strangers across their lands, in the halfway inn where the Harraymen had stopped for refreshment.
The Cinquefoil is told in five parts (Unpopular Fisherman, The Minister and the Girl, A Friday of Rain, Seed, Dust, Star and Writings,) in which are laid out the various relationships over time of the narrators of each and their acquaintances/friends/lovers. As a result it encapsulates the closeness and complexity of island life as a microcosm of life in general.
The Burning Harp is described as a story for the eightieth birthday of Neil Gunn. In 1135 a cottage is set on fire by intruders, who decide to let out, in turn, children and servants, a priest and finally a poet whose singing they heard and recognise as that of Niall of Dunbeath. (His songs mirror those of Gunn’s stories.)
To anyone familiar with Scottish folklore Sealskin’s title tells the reader more or less all. It is impeccably told though. A man finds a sealskin on the beach and stores it in his barn. A day or so later encounters a naked woman swimming by the shore. She has no knowledge of the language and he takes her in; to the great ire of his mother. Marriage and children ensue. Years later he discovers the skin again and the inevitable happens. An afterword mentions the tale was inspired by a famed Orkney musician, Magnus Olafson.
The Girl spends an afternoon lazing on the sea-bank almost in earshot of a group of men gossiping while repairing fishing nets and such, till she hears the approaching sound of a motor-bike.
In The Drowned Rose, William Reynolds, the new schoolmaster on Quoylay, is visited on his first night on the island by a young woman in a red dress, looking for a man named John. Reynolds befriends the local minister, Donald Barr, who refuses to elaborate on the woman’s history. She had been the previous schoolmistress, Sarah McKillop, well remembered by her pupils, and it is only a spiteful neighbour called Henrickson who reveals her tragic end, taking great relish in describing what he regards as the scandalous goings on which preceded it and why the islander shad resolved on a male as her successor.
The Tarn and the Rosary shows episodes in the life of Colm, a writer, from his grandfather’s death, through his first trip to the small Loch Tumishun in the centre of the island of Norday, the burgeoning of his confidence and aspirations when his first composition is praised by his teacher, his overhearing a group of men bemoaning the superstitions of Catholics, to his sojourn in Edinburgh trying to write but also attending mass. It’s an almost haunting evocation of Northern Island life.
The Interrogator has set out from Leith to Norday to question the locals about the death of Vera Paulson, found in the sea a month after she disappeared. None of them is very forthcoming. When the girl herself appears – as a ghost – her story does not quite match with any of theirs.
November 6, 2022
"Hawkfall and other stories" ist eine Sammlung Kurzgeschichten von den Orkneyinseln wo der Autor geboren wurde. Die Orkneys sind reich an Geschichte denn sie wurden seit der Steinzeit von den verschiedensten Volksgruppen bewohnt. Jede von ihnen hinterließ ihre eigenen Monumente und Sagen: Pikten, Nordmänner und letztendlich die Schotten. Auch heute findet man auf den Inseln ihre Spuren. Viele Namen klingen eher norwegisch als schottisch und auch die Sagen sind oft sehr verschieden zu denen, die man sonst in Großbritannien kennt.
George Mackay Brown wird auch als der Barde der Orkneys bezeichnet. Für mich trägt er diesen Namen zu Recht. Jede der Geschichten ist wie ein kleines Lied über die geliebte Heimat. Er erzählt von den verschiedensten Dingen: The drowned rose ist die Geschichte von zwei Liebenden die auch nach ihrem Tod noch an ihrer Beziehung im Leben hängen. In Sealskin vermischt sich die Legende der Selkies mit der Realität. Andere Geschichten erzählen vom täglichen Leben auf den Inseln das doch nicht so alltäglich ist wie es auf den ersten Blick scheint.
Allen Geschichten haben eine gewisse Melancholie gemeinsam, die meiner Meinung nach aber gut zu den Inseln passt. Hawkfall war das erste Buch das ich von George Mackay Brown gelesen habe, aber es wird nicht das letzte bleiben. Der einzige Wehmutstropfen ist dass mir die Geschichte die er zu Ehren von Neil M. Gunns 80. Geburtstag geschrieben hat so gar nicht gefallen hat.
George Mackay Brown wird auch als der Barde der Orkneys bezeichnet. Für mich trägt er diesen Namen zu Recht. Jede der Geschichten ist wie ein kleines Lied über die geliebte Heimat. Er erzählt von den verschiedensten Dingen: The drowned rose ist die Geschichte von zwei Liebenden die auch nach ihrem Tod noch an ihrer Beziehung im Leben hängen. In Sealskin vermischt sich die Legende der Selkies mit der Realität. Andere Geschichten erzählen vom täglichen Leben auf den Inseln das doch nicht so alltäglich ist wie es auf den ersten Blick scheint.
Allen Geschichten haben eine gewisse Melancholie gemeinsam, die meiner Meinung nach aber gut zu den Inseln passt. Hawkfall war das erste Buch das ich von George Mackay Brown gelesen habe, aber es wird nicht das letzte bleiben. Der einzige Wehmutstropfen ist dass mir die Geschichte die er zu Ehren von Neil M. Gunns 80. Geburtstag geschrieben hat so gar nicht gefallen hat.
October 30, 2020
The best stories are definitely Tithonus, Sealskin and The Drowned Rose. I loved these three, probably because I found the presentation of women within them very interesting.
The 3 star rating is because I found the rest of the stories pretty dull in comparison, but I would give 4/5 stars to the stories mentioned above.
The 3 star rating is because I found the rest of the stories pretty dull in comparison, but I would give 4/5 stars to the stories mentioned above.
August 29, 2017
I didn't enjoy all of these short stories equally, but several of them were masterpieces. And the setting in the Orkney Islands off the north of Scotland brought to life a beautiful and unusual community and culture.
November 8, 2018
The title story of this collection is one of my favorite pieces of short fiction in the whole wide world. I love this author so much. His prose is absolutely gorgeous.
July 8, 2021
Truly rare work and magical. as well as his Winter Tales.
July 25, 2018
The third collection of short stories I've read by George Mackay Brown. I was going to give it 3 stars. It took me some time to get through this book, but the final tale, The Interrogater, lifted it to 4 stars.
May 5, 2009
Short stories set in Orkney full of village characters. Two of the stories are ghost stories and one appears to be somewhat autobiographical.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews