The New Penguin Book of Scottish Short Stories

by Ian Murray (editor), Various

In the art of the short story, Scotland's writers have led the way. The earliest in this anthology, those of Sir Walter Scott and James Hogg, are rich in folklore, proverb, superstition, and sinister humor. Throughout this collection, a preoccupation with the supernatural emerges, from the spiritual torment of John Buchan's "The Outgoing of the Tide" to the chilling premonition of Muriel Spark's "The House of the Famous Poet". While stories such as "Alicky's Watch" depict the influence of the Calvinist religion, darker subjects are frequently offset by the comedy found in tales like "A Wee Nip". Among the other contributors to this spirited collection are Robert Louis Stevenson, Naomi Mitchison, and George Mackay Brown.

Genres: Short Stories, Anthologies, Fiction, Scotland

336 pages, Paperback

First published April 3, 1984

Reviews

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I first read this collection almost 40 years ago when it was first published. I hadn’t realised I still had it until I stumbled across it in my overstuffed bookshelves, and decided a re-read was in order. I’ve recently posted separate reviews for 3 of the individual stories. The longest story in the collection, more of a novella really, is Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Beach of Falesa, which I have reviewed elsewhere on here.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

For me there are two standout stories in this collection and I’ll return to them later. The best of the rest was The Tax Gatherer, by the Caithness writer Neil M. Gunn. I’ve read a few of Neil Gunn’s novels and they haven’t always resonated with me, but I liked this story, which featured a dispute between the titular taxman and a woman from a travelling family over the payment of a dog licence (something that used to be required in the UK). It’s in effect a meeting between people from two different tribes, albeit they live in the same country. It’s a theme that often appeals to me. A rather sombre tale.

Muriel Spark’s The House of the Famous Poet, set in wartime London, is a puzzling story that takes an unexpected turn. It does leave the reader thinking, and I don’t mind stories like that. Elspeth Davie’s story Pedestrian is an amusing tale that looks at the modern world and the situation of the outsider.

One feature of this collection is that there’s a disproportionate number of stories with a supernatural theme, maybe reflecting a preference by the editor? There are around twenty stories in total and I’m not going to go through them all, as I found most of them to be average. An exception is the last story in the book, Iain Crichton-Smith’s Survival Without Error, from 1970. A lawyer defends two thugs who have beaten up a homeless man, and whilst in court he is distracted by the memory of an incident that occurred during his period of National Service 15 years before. This story has a powerful impact, but it’s delivered in an understated way that, in my opinion, makes it all the more effective. It’s worth a read if you ever come across a copy.

My other favourite is Lewis Grassic Gibbon’s comic story Smeddum. The title is a dialect word from Scotland’s north-east, that equates to “spirit”, “grit” or, as the author puts it “guts”. Smeddum introduces us to the character of Meg Menzies, the formidable matriarch of 9 children raised on a farm. (In Scotland the name Menzies is traditionally pronounced “mingis”). It’s a great story. There’s a reading on YouTube by the Scottish actor/theatre director Matthew Zajac, which is about half an hour long. I would recommend it, although I should say that much of the story is in local dialect, so it might not be easy for someone who has English as a second language.

[Mónica Cordero Thomson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Supongo que esto pasará con muchas recopilaciones de relatos cortos de diversos autores. Hay en este libro algunos relatos que son magníficos y que merecen las cinco estrellas (The Open Door de Margaret Oliphant; The Beach of Falesá, R.L. Stevenson; Sealskin trousers, Eric Linklater); hay otros que son relatos que están bien (The two drovers, Walter Scott, The tax- Gatherer, Neil M. Gunn) y otros que me han dejado totalmente indiferente.
Sin embargo, el libro merece la pena, sólo por leer a Stevenson y a Oliphant (esta última un descubrimiento para mí).

[Edvard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great collection of short stories ranging in length and complexity. Book was somewhat front-loaded with a few very good but longer stories, which made the middle feel less impactful. Ended on some strong ones though, in particular the one about the man and his military service. Felt some personal connection there.

Note that the Scottish accent (in writing) took some time to get used to. Stories used it to varying degrees, and some speech was quite difficult to understand.

[Gordon Watson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very enjoyable and eclectic collection of short stories.

[Jeff Hobbs]

Read so far:

The brownie of Black Haggs / James Hogg--3
The two drovers / Walter Scott--3
The gudewife / John Galt--
The open door / Margaret Oliphant--3
*The beach of Falesá / R. L. Stevenson--
Beattock for Moffat / R. B. Cunninghame-Graham--1
The outgoing of the tide / John Buchan--2
The tax-gatherer / Neil M. Gunn--
A wee nip / E. Gaitens--
In the family / Naomi Mitchison--
*Sealskin trousers / Eric Linklater--
Smeddum / Lewis Grassic Gibbon--2
The mennans / Robert MacLellan--
The disinherited / J. F. Hendry--
*Alicky's watch / Fred Urquhart--
The house of the famous poet / Muriel Spark--2
Pedestrian / Elspeth Davie--2
*The wireless set / George Mackay Brown--
The money / Ian Hamilton Finlay--
Survival without error / Iain Crichton Smith--

[Douglas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. Dive into the mystery of fairly unknown works from long ago.