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The Pearl-fishers
When a family of travelling pearl-fishers arrives in a small Scottish town, the inhabitants react in their own different ways, from warmth to outright rejection. But how will they respond when love seems to blossom between local man Gavin Hamilton and the beautiful pearl-fisher Effie? The Pearl-fishers is a classic love story and the master storyteller’s last novel.
179 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2007
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47 people want to read
About the author
Robin Jenkins
54 books35 followersAuthor of a number of landmark novels including The Cone Gatherers, The Changeling, Happy for the Child, The Thistle and the Grail and Guests of War, Jenkins is recognised as one of Scotland's greatest writers. The themes of good and evil, of innocence lost, of fraudulence, cruelty and redemption shine through his work. His novels, shot through with ambiguity, are rarely about what they seem. He published his first book, So Gaily Sings the Lark, at the age of thirty-eight, and by the time of his death in 2005, over thirty of his novels were in print.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
January 1, 2026
This is a sort of Pygmalion story, a love story between a naïve young forester, and a girl from a family of travellers who arrive in a small Scottish town. The locals — whose Christian principles don't include generosity of spirit — spurn this family because they seem the same as tinkers, who have a (mostly undeserved) bad reputation for theft and for bringing disease into the town. These judgemental locals do not know (or care to find out) that this family comes of a long tradition of making a respectable living by fishing for valuable freshwater pearls. So at first it might seem that Jenkins was writing about how such prejudice was a betrayal of the Christian principle of 'love thy neighbour'.
But this novel is the catalyst for exploring social distinctions further than that. The characterisation is important: Gavin Hamilton is cast as a man of principle: he (like Jenkins himself) is a forester deployed in the Ardmore Forest during WW2 when he was a conscientious objector. Rosemary Goring tells us in the Introduction that the Hamilton of this novel shares characteristics with the Hamilton of A Would-be Saint (1978), (which I haven't read). He is quiet, gentle, intelligent and humane, not to mention very good looking. Importantly, Gavin is also by the standards of this town, wealthy, though again importantly, not through inherited wealth. He is heir to the childless owner of the Manse which is to be turned into a holiday house for underprivileged children. He has plans to study for the Ministry too, so he is A Catch, and it is not just Fiona McDonald who fancies herself as the Minister's wife, the social arbiters of the middle class are invested in his marriage plans too. Their Minister's Wife must meet their standards, which Effie does not do.
The unlikely attraction between these two begins with Hamilton's kindness to a family which is struggling but it's Effie's attractions that are also the catalyst for his generosity. Captivated by her dignified demeanour and her obvious physical charms, he offers not only to let the family stay on the property, but also to live in the house. Despite not being able to afford good clothes and a haircut every now and again, Effie is a very pretty girl and her care for her siblings Eddie and Morag impresses Gavin, especially by contrast with her slovenly mother. When Effie explains that her grandfather's dying wish is to be buried with his forefathers in the forest, Gavin understands that the town's current ministers won't allow him to be buried in their churchyards, and he undertakes to help her fulfil her grandfather's wish.
These plot details fade into insignificance beside Jenkins' real concerns. Though they might have been made explicit in an edited draft, there are aspects of the dilemma not fully fleshed out at all. I do not think, as Goring suggests, that this novel is merely about a character who is a good man trying to live out his beliefs and Jenkin's recurring thematic interest in the survival of decency and innocence or idealism in a corrupt world. What the reader sees is that Gavin is besotted but has not thought through the difficulties that will not be resolved by his money. Effie can have a bath and a haircut and acquire clothes that make her look elegant, but that will not be enough. Through Effie's inner thoughts, we see that she understands the social gulf between them, and that he will suffer from the town's prejudice more than she will. The effort to pretend that she is not who she really is exhausts her when she goes into town, and from her attendance at a church service where she is welcomed on Gavin's protective arm, she knows that she can't conceal her origins in the place where her future could lie.
To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2026/01/01/t...
But this novel is the catalyst for exploring social distinctions further than that. The characterisation is important: Gavin Hamilton is cast as a man of principle: he (like Jenkins himself) is a forester deployed in the Ardmore Forest during WW2 when he was a conscientious objector. Rosemary Goring tells us in the Introduction that the Hamilton of this novel shares characteristics with the Hamilton of A Would-be Saint (1978), (which I haven't read). He is quiet, gentle, intelligent and humane, not to mention very good looking. Importantly, Gavin is also by the standards of this town, wealthy, though again importantly, not through inherited wealth. He is heir to the childless owner of the Manse which is to be turned into a holiday house for underprivileged children. He has plans to study for the Ministry too, so he is A Catch, and it is not just Fiona McDonald who fancies herself as the Minister's wife, the social arbiters of the middle class are invested in his marriage plans too. Their Minister's Wife must meet their standards, which Effie does not do.
The unlikely attraction between these two begins with Hamilton's kindness to a family which is struggling but it's Effie's attractions that are also the catalyst for his generosity. Captivated by her dignified demeanour and her obvious physical charms, he offers not only to let the family stay on the property, but also to live in the house. Despite not being able to afford good clothes and a haircut every now and again, Effie is a very pretty girl and her care for her siblings Eddie and Morag impresses Gavin, especially by contrast with her slovenly mother. When Effie explains that her grandfather's dying wish is to be buried with his forefathers in the forest, Gavin understands that the town's current ministers won't allow him to be buried in their churchyards, and he undertakes to help her fulfil her grandfather's wish.
These plot details fade into insignificance beside Jenkins' real concerns. Though they might have been made explicit in an edited draft, there are aspects of the dilemma not fully fleshed out at all. I do not think, as Goring suggests, that this novel is merely about a character who is a good man trying to live out his beliefs and Jenkin's recurring thematic interest in the survival of decency and innocence or idealism in a corrupt world. What the reader sees is that Gavin is besotted but has not thought through the difficulties that will not be resolved by his money. Effie can have a bath and a haircut and acquire clothes that make her look elegant, but that will not be enough. Through Effie's inner thoughts, we see that she understands the social gulf between them, and that he will suffer from the town's prejudice more than she will. The effort to pretend that she is not who she really is exhausts her when she goes into town, and from her attendance at a church service where she is welcomed on Gavin's protective arm, she knows that she can't conceal her origins in the place where her future could lie.
To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2026/01/01/t...
January 3, 2011
In fairness to the author, this wasn't published during his lifetime. It definitely lacks the polish of a finished work, but it's worth reading if you're a fan as it provides a snapshot of a work in progress. There's a lot of good raw material here, but it's far from a finished novel.
December 10, 2023
The manuscript (actually several iterations of it) of The Pearl-fishers, with its initial title The Tinker Girl, was discovered in Jenkins’s papers after his death, with no indication he had intended for it to be published. Three other versions are stored in the National Library of Scotland, an early handwritten draft with many amendments, and two typescripts, one of which is identical with this published one.
It begins with a group of forestry workers on a break noticing two dilapidated carts drawn by equally decrepit horses as they approach. The carts carry a grey-haired woman, an old man, two children and a striking young woman. The collective thoughts of the workers are that such beauty is wasted on they call tinkers. All the workers that is, except Gavin Hamilton, the same Gavin Hamilton it would seem as appeared in Jenkins’s earlier novel A Would-be Saint, who has a natural disposition towards kindness.
The “tinkers” (Jenkins utilises the word’s negative connotations superbly to point out the prejudice inherent in the locals’ attitudes and suspicions) are travellers, yes, but make their living searching out pearls from fresh water oysters. The group has made the two hundred-mile journey from Sutherland so that the dying old man, the three young travellers’ grandfather, can be buried by the Great Stone where members of his family were interred when he was four.
All they ask of the locals is a field to pitch their tent, and Gavin grants their request. However, he always intended to invite them into his house instead. The young woman is Effie Williamson, the older woman is her mother, the children her brother Eddie and sister Morag.
The children turn out to be far from the feral wild things of the foresters’ imagination. Polite and well-mannered, they take to Gavin, as he does to them. Effie’s feelings are more complex. Her pride makes her want not to take advantage of Gavin’s generosity of spirit but her natural grace wrongfoots the locals - especially the Minister’s sister (also daughter of a minister and niece of a Moderator,) whom it is thought locally has her eyes on Gavin and would make him a good wife, though any relationship between them would doubtless lack passion.
The burgeoning attraction between Gavin and Effie does perhaps progress rather too quickly (the book is only 181 pages long) but it is destined never to exceed the bounds of propriety, despite any opportunities living in the same house presents. Any impediment to its advancement is provided only by Effie’s feelings of reluctance and restraint and Gavin’s deferment to them.
The backgrounds of both Gavin and the “tinkers” are well developed as are the dynamics of the small town setting but there is a rather rushed feeling to the book most likely as a consequence of it being unfinished (or I should say unpolished.) Had Jenkins had more time these could have been remedied. The Pearl-fishers is a worthy addition to his œvre, though.
It begins with a group of forestry workers on a break noticing two dilapidated carts drawn by equally decrepit horses as they approach. The carts carry a grey-haired woman, an old man, two children and a striking young woman. The collective thoughts of the workers are that such beauty is wasted on they call tinkers. All the workers that is, except Gavin Hamilton, the same Gavin Hamilton it would seem as appeared in Jenkins’s earlier novel A Would-be Saint, who has a natural disposition towards kindness.
The “tinkers” (Jenkins utilises the word’s negative connotations superbly to point out the prejudice inherent in the locals’ attitudes and suspicions) are travellers, yes, but make their living searching out pearls from fresh water oysters. The group has made the two hundred-mile journey from Sutherland so that the dying old man, the three young travellers’ grandfather, can be buried by the Great Stone where members of his family were interred when he was four.
All they ask of the locals is a field to pitch their tent, and Gavin grants their request. However, he always intended to invite them into his house instead. The young woman is Effie Williamson, the older woman is her mother, the children her brother Eddie and sister Morag.
The children turn out to be far from the feral wild things of the foresters’ imagination. Polite and well-mannered, they take to Gavin, as he does to them. Effie’s feelings are more complex. Her pride makes her want not to take advantage of Gavin’s generosity of spirit but her natural grace wrongfoots the locals - especially the Minister’s sister (also daughter of a minister and niece of a Moderator,) whom it is thought locally has her eyes on Gavin and would make him a good wife, though any relationship between them would doubtless lack passion.
The burgeoning attraction between Gavin and Effie does perhaps progress rather too quickly (the book is only 181 pages long) but it is destined never to exceed the bounds of propriety, despite any opportunities living in the same house presents. Any impediment to its advancement is provided only by Effie’s feelings of reluctance and restraint and Gavin’s deferment to them.
The backgrounds of both Gavin and the “tinkers” are well developed as are the dynamics of the small town setting but there is a rather rushed feeling to the book most likely as a consequence of it being unfinished (or I should say unpolished.) Had Jenkins had more time these could have been remedied. The Pearl-fishers is a worthy addition to his œvre, though.
December 7, 2023
Set in Scotland the Pearl fishers is the
story of Gavin Hamilton and Effie Williamson a story of love,fear,community,change,kindness and new beginnings.
Some quotes.....
He could have gone on his bicycle and still more quickly in his car, but he preferred to walk. He wanted more time to think about his visitors who's coming he was convinced was not accidental.
"I've seen the moon shining on the water hundreds of times" said Effie, "but this is the first time I've realised how beautiful it is"
He felt a great desire,a great need, to protect her, but from what?
Her enemies were memories, not easily got rid of.
"I think I was about to give up" Effie Williamson
"Effie Williamson giving up I don't believe it" Gavin Hamilton
It could all happen..........
story of Gavin Hamilton and Effie Williamson a story of love,fear,community,change,kindness and new beginnings.
Some quotes.....
He could have gone on his bicycle and still more quickly in his car, but he preferred to walk. He wanted more time to think about his visitors who's coming he was convinced was not accidental.
"I've seen the moon shining on the water hundreds of times" said Effie, "but this is the first time I've realised how beautiful it is"
He felt a great desire,a great need, to protect her, but from what?
Her enemies were memories, not easily got rid of.
"I think I was about to give up" Effie Williamson
"Effie Williamson giving up I don't believe it" Gavin Hamilton
It could all happen..........
August 11, 2019
I enjoyed this book. You should go in knowing that the book was published after the authors death, so this is not a finalised edition of the story- expect underdeveloped characters and a weak conclusion. This is a shame especially because I enjoyed the story and characters up until the end, and feel as though this would’ve been a really touching story overall if it felt more complete.
August 23, 2025
I found this book extraordinarily bland and dull. The story isn't really about the Pearl Fishers at all, but about Effie Williamson's relationship with Gavin Hamilton, the village pastor.
No surprises, even the language is unsophisticated. I was pleased to read elsewhere on here that it probably wasn't the finished work, and wasn't published during the author's lifetime.
No surprises, even the language is unsophisticated. I was pleased to read elsewhere on here that it probably wasn't the finished work, and wasn't published during the author's lifetime.
April 27, 2010
This is the first of Robin Jenkins' work I have read thus far, in hindsight it probably wasn't a good place to begin as it was published after his death. It is an enjoyable light read. However, for me the characters seemed a little under developed. This isn't so much a problem with the character of Gavin Hamilton whom is already developed in "A Would-Be Saint" (a novel I am still to read) but bothered me when it came to Effie, I really wanted to like her but like Hamilton I never really felt that I knew her too well, I was also never really sure of the tone of the dialogue between any of the characters. The conclusion to the novel is also somewhat lacking but I couldn't say if this is because the book wasn't quite finalised before Jenkins' death or if this is the intended final style of the piece. Either way this is still an enjoyable read but maybe not Jenkins' best work.
December 5, 2015
I enjoyed this book, which was published after the author had passed away from a manuscript that his family discovered when clearing his house. Jenkins' writing style is almost conversational - I can imagine him telling me the story.
The story is set in Scotland and is about a family of travellers who experience prejudice because they live the life of tinkers, although they are pearl fishers. The reader is taken on an emotional journey through the eyes of the main character, Effie, who sees a chance to live a different kind of life, but is uncertain as to whether it will make her happy.
Thought-provoking and well worth reading.
The story is set in Scotland and is about a family of travellers who experience prejudice because they live the life of tinkers, although they are pearl fishers. The reader is taken on an emotional journey through the eyes of the main character, Effie, who sees a chance to live a different kind of life, but is uncertain as to whether it will make her happy.
Thought-provoking and well worth reading.
May 24, 2013
It's been suggested that this book, found after Robin Jenkins' death, was unfinished. After reading, I have to agree. It feels like he's drafted the novel, deciding what was going to happen and when but the characters are weak. Certainly, for me, not as well developed as his characters in, for example, The Cone Gatherers or Fergus Lamont. It's a very fast read and at times it feels like reading a children's book.
If you haven't read another book by Jenkins, don't base your opinion of him as an author on this novel. Try another and then decide.
If you haven't read another book by Jenkins, don't base your opinion of him as an author on this novel. Try another and then decide.
May 2, 2016
This was ok. It made for pleasant enough light reading, and I found the love story quite sweet. I found Gavin's kindness and sweetness refreshing, and I'm glad they made it in the end. I do think the fact that it was posthumously published and unfinished showed, as it didn't feel very fleshed out and I didn't really feel I got much of a sense of Effie as a person, or of the real reasons she and Gavin fell in love, but it's short and sweet and offers a good snapshot of small town Scottish life in the 50s.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 14, 2011
Loved this book. Thought the book was beautiful, insightful and simple. The book was found in the author drawer after his death by his daughter who wasn't sure if it was complete. I feel that this is the beginning of what would have been a much more complex and tragic novel. I enjoyed if but did feel as if there was more and ending where it did seemed to lack the depth that a fuller, longer novel would provide. I will definitely read more of Robin Jenkin's work.
January 14, 2017
Great! This is the second book by Jenkins and the first love story I have read. Rather short, but really a great little read. I think this novel builds suspense rather than description, even now I see Effie as totally different compared to how she is described in the book. The ending-great. Will she be all those things, well considering they braved the storm I say Yes!
August 17, 2015
Just a nice little love story? I enjoyed it.
December 27, 2015
A bit ho-hum, actually. Nice topic, nicely written, but perhaps a bit dated now.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews