This compact and elegant collection of 24 short stories spans from the 18th century to the Covid lockdown of 2020 (see Andrew O'Hagan's dramatic "Keepsakes" which ends this volume), making a strong case for the strength and influence of Scottish writers in the history of short fiction. Alongside the names of familiar giants like Robert Louis Stevenson and Arthur Conan Doyle, readers will find examples of the short work of equally compelling Scottish writers like Lewis Grassic Gibbon, whose “Sunset Song” (not included here) often tops the list of novels of all time, and the distinctive and feverishly inventive Alastair Gray, whose “Poor Things” (also not included) was turned into an Academy Award-winning film. Contemporary writers like Ali Smith, Irvine Welsh and A.L. Kennedy are featured, as well. In his introduction, Gerard Carruthers maps out the importance of 19th century Scottish literary periodicals like Blackwood's (printed in Edinburgh from 1817 to 1980) in shaping the scope of the form, exploring the ways that Scottish writers’ long fascination with the supernatural could be viewed as a pointed response to the strains of modernity. Hardback, 473 pages.
