A Gift From The Gallowgate

by Doris Davidson

This is the extraordinary story of a remarkable woman. Doris Davidson was born in Aberdeen in 1922, the daughter of a master butcher and country lass. Her idyllic childhood was shattered in 1934 with the death of her father, after which, in order to make ends meet, her mother was forced to take in lodgers. In part due to her father's sudden death, Doris left school at fifteen and went to work in an office, gradually rising through the ranks until she became book-keeper. Marriage to an officer in the Merchant Navy followed in 1942, then divorce, then her second marriage. Her life took the first of two major changes in direction at the age of 41, when she went back to college to study for O and A levels, followed by three years at Teacher Training College. In 1967 she became a primary school teacher, and subsequently taught in schools in Aberdeen until she retired in 1982. Not content with a quiet retirement Doris embarked on a new 'career' and became a writer, publishing her first work in 1990. Eight books later (and another one nearly finished), she is one of the country's best-loved romantic novelists and has sold well in excess of 200,000 copies of her books. In this engaging and candid autobiography, Doris Davidson recounts her growing up in Aberdeen in the '20s and '30's, the war years, her marriage and the unexpected paths her career has followed. With her novelist's skill, she brings into vivid focus a life of rich experience in a book every bit as riveting as her works of fiction

Genres: Holocaust

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Would never have picked this up had it not been a book group choice. Although I found her style mildly annoying I did find the local history aspect of it quite interesting. It would not however encourage me to read her fiction

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Week 1 - week 2
An easy to read book
Interesting reading about familiar places in Aberdeen and the north east from 1920s to 1980s
A good description of school days (1926 - 1937)and a reminder that further education was only for people who can afford it rather than those who are able
An insight to office work for a 15year old in 1937
How war changed life
Divorce at the time
Good description of family life through out writers life
Life as a mature student and teacher
Amused when Aberchirder got a mention in the context of places with pronunciation bears no resemblance to how it's spelt (P354)

3.5 hours

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderfully homely story of this late flowering author. Her life, her gradual discovery of her own gifts, college, uni, teaching then serious writing resulting in 9 books. All set in Scotland and most around her own city of Aberdeen. Probably appealing to women more than men.