The Last Wanderer

by Meg Henderson

Relating the three women's histories in overlapping sequence, Henderson weaves a warmly approachable, robustly character-based narrative, deftly infused with idioms and cadences. A convincing, thoughtfully-wrought portrayal of how economics and the elements interact with the individual' - Scotland on Sunday 'A moving commemoration of what may prove to be a dying industry and way of life' - Sunday Herald 'Heartfelt and relevant. Brings the past alive. Stuffed full of a larger than life cast whose eccentricities and suspicions produce funny set-pieces, with more than a touch of the vital spark about them' - The Herald This rich and moving saga tells the story of Ina, Margo and Rose - grandmother, daughter and granddaughter - from the small fishing community of Acarsaid on the west coast of Scotland. Each has led a very different existence, but all three find themselves, despite their restless spirits, caught up in the life of the sea. Told with great understanding and infectious wit, The Last Wanderer is a fascinating story of the ups and downs, the laughs and tragedies of families bound together by an extraordinary shared history.

Genres: Fiction

336 pages, Paperback

First published August 18, 2003

About the author

*note - Born in 1948 however the date/month on my part is unknown and unable to find*

Journalist and author Meg Henderson was born in Townhead, Glasgow. The youngest of three children (2 brothers). Her parents an Irish Catholic father and her mother an Irish/Scottish Protestant.

Meg Henderson lived in several parts of the city including Blackhill, Drumchapel, and Maryhill. After the death of her beloved aunt Peggy; Meg Henderson left her convent secondary school at the age of sixteen to care for her family, an alcoholic father and a mother who was unable to cope with the loss of her sister. On which her first novel 'Finding Peggy' was born out of research into her family history.

First working within the NHS and then travelling to India with the Voluntary Service Overseas. On her return to Scotland she married and went to live on a Scottish island and became an adoptive and foster parent while writing the occasional newspaper article. When Meg Henderson gave up fostering she decided to write full-time.

Henderson now lives with her husband on the East Coast of Scotland works as both a journalist and an author, writting for newspapers, magazines, and television documentaries for the BBC and C4.

Henderson's novels are generally set in pre-war and wartime Glasgow.

Reviews

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is more or less a family saga following the lives of mothers and daughters. It is a bit lopsided somehow - it starts in the Shetlands, with a daughter who yearns to escape (and does) from a mother who is constantly drawing comparisons between her and her brother who died as an infant. There is a lot about the herring industry, which provides the work which initially takes her away from Shetland. Having married (eventually) and moved to a fishing community on the mainland, the story picks up with the cold behaviour of her daughter, widowed with a number of children, and then the story of the granddaughter, Again the fishing industry is the background, and there is a lot about the local community and especially about the fishermen and their wives, and the local priest, told with humour. The "last wanderer" of the title is either the fishing boat, or perhaps the granddaughter as the last of the line of women. The background is good but the whole felt a bit uneven.

[Diana Jackson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the first few chapters of this novel following the herring girls from the Shetlands to Yarmouth. I loved the characters, Ina and Ella and felt great empathy for Ella's plight.
As Ina ended setting up home in Acarsaid on the West Coast I lost the plot a bit as so many of the villagers were described in great detail but then the novel gripped me again as I read through the next two generations of women, Margo, the enigmatic one, and finally Rose, whose life had me gripped and in tears. I'm so glad I read 'til the end.

[Kate M · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a wow read, but a sweet story. Love the Scottish sense of humor that comes through in the characters

[Jane Scott · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a great read. I read it mainly because it was there and I was between books. Its almost like two completely different stories in one. The 'Last Wanderer' part is the second bit. The whole first half of the book has very little relevance to that part and I wasn't sure if I was reading a non-fiction book about fishing. I don't think there was a lot of editing that went into this before it was published as there are many comments throughout the book that double up. The storyline is quite slow and when the biggest event in the story happens (I won't say what it is) you can see it coming a mile off.

[Bonnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this book --- much of the enjoyment! I learned to really love the believable characters as the story progressed through three generations. Written as fiction but enough fact to help you understand the fishing industry (and its demise) in Scotland. If you love a saga, this is your book --- an old one printed back in the mid-90s.