Background
Anna Shepherd was born on 11 February 1893 in Peterculter to John and Jane Shepherd. Her family moved to Cults shortly after Nan was born, to the house where she lived for most of her life.
Anna Shepherd was born on 11 February 1893 in Peterculter to John and Jane Shepherd. Her family moved to Cults shortly after Nan was born, to the house where she lived for most of her life.
She attended Aberdeen High School for Girls and graduated from the University of Aberdeen in 1915, subsequently lecturing for the Aberdeen College of Education.
She was an early Scottish Modernist writer, who wrote three standalone novels set in small, fictional, communities in North Scotland. The Scottish landscape and weather played a major role in her novels and were the focus of her poetry. Shepherd also wrote one non-fiction book on hill walking, based on her experiences walking in the Cairngorms.
Shepherd was a lecturer of English at the Aberdeen College of Education for most of her working life.
Shepherd retired from teaching in 1956. Following her retirement, she edited the Aberdeen University review until 1963.
The university awarded her an honorary doctorate in 1964. She was a friend and supporter of other Scottish writers including Neil M. Gunn, Marion Angus and Jessie Kesson.
She died in Woodend Hospital in Aberdeen in 1981.