Background
Brown, George Mackay was born on October 17, 1921 in Stromness, Orkney Islands, Scotland. Son of John and Mary Jane (Mackay) Brown.
(This is an evocative and striking collection from the mas...)
This is an evocative and striking collection from the master of the short story form. The title story was dramatised for BBC television in the 1980s and the film, directed by Bill Forsyth, met with wide acclaim.
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(This collection of eleven stories, first published by The...)
This collection of eleven stories, first published by The Hogarth Press in 1974, demonstrates the full range of George Mackay Brown's literary talent. George Mackay Brown was steeped in the life and traditions of Orkney, a world set firmly between the sea and the sky, where time has an altogether different nature and significance from the rest of the world. 'In Orkney,' wrote Edwin Muir, 'the lives of living men turn into legend.' The rich history of the islands – the succession of Neolithic man, Pict, Norsemen, Scot – leaves its impression upon the life of modern Orkney and is reflected in this finely wrought collection. Mingling past and present, the human world and the spiritual, George Mackay Brown brings together both the modern islanders and the Orcadians of centuries past, for the same lineaments are discernable in both. 'Hawkfall', the central story, traces the vicissitudes, violence and hypocrisies which recur over many generations; in 'The Drowned Rose', the ghosts of dead lovers, still in love with the things of this world, mix with the living, while 'Sealskin' explored the relationship between legend, art and life. All stories are richly entertaining, poignant and moving, their universal themes realized in the context of their unique island setting.
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( The first collection of stories published by George Mac...)
The first collection of stories published by George Mackay Brown, this volume includes 14 stories arising from both ancient and modern life on the island of Orkney.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0719560217/?tag=2022091-20
(George Mackay Brown's sparkling, fable-like novel Greenvo...)
George Mackay Brown's sparkling, fable-like novel Greenvoe depicts the sudden, destructive intrusion of brute modernity into a tight-knit and unchanging community, as witnessed by an eclectic host of local characters. Alan MacGillivray's SCOTNOTE study guide carefully traces Greenvoe's narrative threads and is an excellent resource for senior school pupils and students.
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(Thorfinn Ragnarson is the daydreaming son of a tenant far...)
Thorfinn Ragnarson is the daydreaming son of a tenant farmer, avoiding both work and school despite the best efforts of family, friends and neighbours. Instead, the boy dreams up elaborate historical fantasies. In a series of intriguing chapters, George Mackay Brown transforms Thorfinn into a Viking traveller, a freedom-fighter for Bonnie Prince Charlie and the colleague of a Falstaffian knight who participates in the Battle of Bannockburn. He is then hurled into the future as Thor, who returns to the Orkneys as an adult and recalls his internment in a German POW camp, where he discovered his writing skills. Thor also reflects on the history of Orkney, the links between dreaming and writing and the whims of fate. In this beautiful and haunting novel, Brown's lyrical descriptions and gift for local colour capture, as ever, the myth-drenched magic of his native islands.
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(Greenvoe, the tight-knit community on the Orcadian island...)
Greenvoe, the tight-knit community on the Orcadian island of Hellya, has existed unchanged for generations. However, a sinister military/industrial project, Operation Black Star, requires the island for unspecified purposes and threatens the islanders' way of life. In this, his first novel (1972), George Mackay Brown recreates a week in the life of the island community as they come to terms with the destructiveness of Operation Black Star. A whole host of characters - The Skarf, failed fishermen and Marxist historian; Ivan Westray, boatman and dallier; pious creeler Samuel Whaness; drunken fishermen Bert Kerston; earth-mother Alice Voar, and meths-drinker Timmy Folster - are vividly brought to life in this sparkling mixture of prose and poetry.
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(This book takes the reader on a journey from Orkney, over...)
This book takes the reader on a journey from Orkney, over to Norway, into Iceland and Ireland, recreating with historical accuracy the customs and landscapes of the time while bringing the age to life through a large cast of engaging characters. Through the telling of Ranald's story, Mackay Brown displays abundant knowledge about many facets of early Orkney life, of seamanship, marriage customs, beliefs and traditions and his portrayal of this age extends to the routine of the Norwegian Royal court. Traditional poetry is scattered throughout Mackay Brown's prose adding a richness and depth to the tale he tells. Lore and legend, the elemental pull of the sea and the land, the sweetness of the early religion and the darker, more ancient rites, weave through this exquisite celebration of Orcadian history and the inexorable seasons of life.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1904598331/?tag=2022091-20
( The second collection of stories published by George Ma...)
The second collection of stories published by George Mackay Brown, this volume includes 12 stories arising from both ancient and modern life on the island of Orkney.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0814909299/?tag=2022091-20
(Tom Strynd says he is going to drown Fankle the cat in th...)
Tom Strynd says he is going to drown Fankle the cat in the millpond unless Jenny rescues him, so even though her mother hates cats, Jenny takes him home. Fankle tells Jenny the stories of his different lives with pirates, in ancient Egypt and even with the Empress of China. George Mackay Brown weaves the story of Orkney's villagers into his writing in his own inimitable style, resulting in a rewarding read for adults and children alike.
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(When the shopkeeper gives Jenny a skinny, black kitten sh...)
When the shopkeeper gives Jenny a skinny, black kitten she has no idea who she has adopted. Fankle is no ordinary cat. The fiercely clever feline has lived six lives so far: lives of adventure, danger, fortune and poverty. He's stared down angry pirates, started a blood feud, won a war, advised an empress and leapt onto the moon. Fankle tells Jenny tales of his former lives -- with the king of pirates, in ancient Egypt and even with the Empress of China. So what is he doing living in a crofter's cottage in Orkney? This classic novel by George Mackay Brown is a rich and rewarding read for adults and children alike. "The theme of the book is the power of narrative. Living as she does for story making, Jenny projects her skill on to Fankle. The village schoolchildren are asked to write about Fankle, and their efforts make up the central chapter of the novel. There is stimulus here for readers' own writing. Mackay Brown modulates the mood delicately―amusing, roistering, and touching. Underlying there is a wistful reminder that all lives, not only Fankle's, are brief and that humans, unlike cats, have only one." ―Treasure Island: A guide to Scottish fiction for young readers aged 10-14, summer 2003
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((Words and images are combined in this book to celebrate ...)
(Words and images are combined in this book to celebrate St Magnus, martyr and peace-maker. Other work by the author includes Letters to Gypsy, A Celebration for Magnus and The Sea-King's Daughter / Eureka. )
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( This collection of poetry centres on the theme of journ...)
This collection of poetry centres on the theme of journeys - including an ill-fated 19th century trip ending off the Orkney island of Westray, from which the book takes its title. The poet himself seldom voyaged beyond his native town of Stromness but he loved to write about this persisting theme of Orkney life. The islands lay cross a great sea-way from Viking times onwards, and their lore is crowded with sailors, merchants, pilgrims, smugglers, whalers, storms and sea changes. All of this and the journeys celebrated in the festivals of the Christian year are reflected in this wide-ranging collection from one of Scotland's finest poets.
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Brown, George Mackay was born on October 17, 1921 in Stromness, Orkney Islands, Scotland. Son of John and Mary Jane (Mackay) Brown.
Bachelor, University Edinburgh, Scotland, 1960. Postgraduate, University Edinburgh, Scotland, 1964.
(In this, George Mackay Brown’s first collection of short ...)
(This book takes the reader on a journey from Orkney, over...)
(George Mackay Brown's sparkling, fable-like novel Greenvo...)
(In this novel set on the fictitious island of Norday in t...)
( This collection of poetry centres on the theme of journ...)
( The second collection of stories published by George Ma...)
( The first collection of stories published by George Mac...)
(This is a superb collection of stories, focusing on light...)
(Tom Strynd says he is going to drown Fankle the cat in th...)
(Thorfinn Ragnarson is the daydreaming son of a tenant far...)
(This collection of eleven stories, first published by The...)
( A Time to Keep is George Mackay Brown’s second volume o...)
(First published in 1973 by the Hogarth Press, "Magnus" is...)
(Greenvoe, the tight-knit community on the Orcadian island...)
(secondhand copy, Yellow boards, with lightly bumped corne...)
(When the shopkeeper gives Jenny a skinny, black kitten sh...)
((Words and images are combined in this book to celebrate ...)
(This is an evocative and striking collection from the mas...)
(Brown's second collection of stories, all set in the Orkn...)
(This is a collection of poems from George Mackay Brown, t...)
(oblong glossy yellow hardcover, spine black/red pattern)
Fellow Royal Society Literature.