Beautiful Just!

The Second Hebridean Trilogy #3

by Lillian Beckwith

On the Hebridean island of Bruach, life among the crofters is as happy and full of humour as ever. Beckwith tells enchanting tales about the islanders' wit, their canny resourcefulness and their gossipy interest in outsiders. There is Flora and the fancy dress dance, beachcombing, winkle gathering, Highland cattle and a stag - among many other characters and animals. Based on Beckwith's own experiences.

Genres: Fiction, Scotland, Humor

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

Lilian Comber wrote fiction and non-fiction for both adults and children under the pseudonym Lillian Beckwith. She is best known for her series of comic novels based on her time living on a croft in the Scottish Hebrides.

Beckwith was born in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, in 1916, where her father ran a grocery shop. The shop provided the background for her memoir About My Father's Business, a child’s eye view of a 1920s family. She moved to the Isle of Skye with her husband in 1942, and began writing fiction after moving to the Isle of Man with her family twenty years later. She also completed a cookery book, Secrets from a Crofter’s Kitchen (Arrow, 1976).

Since her death, Beckwith’s novel A Shine of Rainbows has been made into a film starring Aidan Quinn and Connie Nielsen, which in 2009 won ‘Best Feature’ awards at the Heartland and Chicago Children’s Film Festivals.

Reviews

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my favourite of all the series and I’m sad I won’t be joining the crofters of Bruach again. No more Morag. No more Erchy. This had none of the inherent racism and superiority of English of the 1950s, especially when writing about those who live just above subsistence, that was in the earlier books under the guise of humour. There’s more love of the people and the countryside.

[Gareth Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Classic Beckwith! Beautifully described vignettes of Hebridean life with a dose of humour. A joy to anyone who isn’t on the receiving end of the pen. After all, she had to flee to the Isle of Man in the end!
Evocative, descriptive, engaging and charming. A record of a way of life almost lost. Thoroughly enjoyable, well-crafted and closely observed writing.

[Fiona · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another delightful Highland tale from Lillian Beckwith, with many a chuckle along the way.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing much happens in this book, a further exploration of Beckwith's life as a crofter in the Hebrides. While Beckwith has gotten used to much of the toil of the crofter's life, she focuses on the beauties of nature with which she's surrounded, and the amusing stories of her fellow crofters and the fishermen she lives among. She's dependent on her neighbors to help her learn the techniques they've known since childhood, and their kindness, leavened with some laughter at her incompetence, is a good part of what she loves about the Highlands.

[Jill Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

The vocabulary used in the telling of these stories and the miscommunication between English visitors had me laughing out loud.

Lillian Beckwith is a delightful writer. She describes her life on the Hebridean island of Bruach.
It's difficult to be crofting when jobs and seasons demand your time and energy.

It's also a life of fine friendships, breathtaking scenery, and joy.

My mother gave me several books by this author which I treasure. It is of an age and I'm not sure younger people would see them as good reads. I certainly do.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The Hebridean island of Bruach provides the setting for more enchanting tales of life among the crofters. Rich in incident and humour, Beautiful, Just sees Lillian Beckwith at the top of her form."
~~back cover

More humorous and insightful tales of the crofters of Bruach -- many old familiar faces, & several new ones. I espepcially liked the one about Sucky the calf that the author raised from a baby, and how hard it was to sell him when he reached his zenith.

[Ruth Ramirez]

I found this jewel in a 4 for a dollar store.... delightfully sweet, poignant, short and apparently the third in a series of 8. Enjoyed every minute and even stretched it out over several nights before bed. Helped me to sleep peacefully.

[Adele · Rating 3 out of 5]

All the joy of learning about the life of a crofter without the back breaking work in often adverse weather conditions, and with the line drawings by Douglas Hall, the whole series of books are, Beautiful just!

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The perfect antidote to co-vid 19 isolation! Thoughtful, funny, beautifully written, you will not be disappointed if you spend time with Lillian Beckwith on her beautiful Hebridean Island.

[Joan Barton · Rating 4 out of 5]

read in '82 & '13

[Esther · Rating 4 out of 5]

One to go and then there ain't no more, which is sad. Lillian Beckwith's Bruach series is just the kind of reading I need right now, and I have nearly finished.

[Mardi D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Learned more about the Bruach community and enjoyed my time with the folk.

[Pihla · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely delightful discovery!

[Iain Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read a her books a while ago, very entertaining and bucolic.

[Duncan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved every page I turned

[Karen-Leigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book six, as good as book one. A wonderful series. I doubt very much that the world she created and the people she observed exist today. Her books are a window into a life long gone but eye opening and heartbreaking all the same.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

yet another charming Hebridean memoir. Nothing matches the freshness of the first one, but it is still a delightful read.

[Iain Watson]

Beautiful Just by Lillian Beckwith (2001)

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book

[Joanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charming, funny, makes me want a croft by the sea.

[Mark Rudd · Rating 2 out of 5]

A little bit too cute for my taste. I suspect lif on a croft was a lot harder than she would have you believe, even if you are a lady who gets lots of help.