George Blake (1893-1961) was a journalist and novelist who took his inspiration from Glasgow and Clydeside where he lived most of his life. He is best known for his novels, especially The Shipbuilders (1935). Some find his dialogue and characterization a little clumsy. But his talent for social commentary and strong sense of place are indisputed.

His non-fiction has been long out of print and is hard to get hold of. There are histories of shipping and shipping-related businesses, which may be of only specialist interest, but The Heart of Scotland (1934, revised 1938 and 1951) is well worth tracking down.

The book is, he says, an attempt ‘to discover … “the idiom” of the national life’. I like its directness. Edinburgh is described as ‘a little complacent, a trifle haughty, considerably snobbish; regarding itself on the whole as being a cut above the Scotland of which it is the administrative centre.’ On Highland Games: ‘What Scottish reality could there possibly be in a highly organised affair, staged almost entirely for the benefit of alien landowners, who offer to Scotland the last insult of the assumption of the kilt and are in Scotland only to have so many acres of it all to themselves?’

He also has a fine eye that unpatronisingly draws comedy and tragedy from a portrait of a village shop, where easy-going traditions struggle against a rural economic decline that means most of its produce is imported from Glasgow, England or further afield. ‘The litter of cans along high-water mark tells the story.’

There is a nice tribute to Blake’s The Firth of Clyde (1954) by the editor of Granta, Ian Jack, in a Guardian piece that recalls his childhood holidays in the area: http://www.guardian.co.uk/book.....ianreview7

other books to suggest
On the Crofter’s Trail by David Craig — a novelist tells of his research about memories of the clearances in the Hebrides and the connections between Canada and Scotland. David Yeadon’s Seasons on Harris might be of interest too. Alistair Moffat’s Sea Kingdoms deals with the history of whole range of sea bordering lands from Cape Wrath to Penzance, so there’s more than Scotland in there, but it’s a thoughtful and not so usual take on looking at the connections among those lands across time.

and if you like Scottish music or think you might come on over Music Road. recent stories including Jim Malcolm, Eddi Reader, Julie Fowlis, Emily Smith, more to come.

Thanks for the interesting article, Vera Marie.