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World » Europe » Britain » Scotland

Browse book recommendations:

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Our experts have chosen the best books on Scotland and the history of the Scottish people. Whatever book you're looking for—whether books about the history of Scotland, or books by Scottish writers—we've got you covered.

We have some leading Scottish authors such as Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes books), Muriel Spark, and Robert Louis Stevenson as well as history from the Jacobites to the Highland clearances and famous Scottish economist Adam Smith.

Celebrated Scottish novelist Val McDermid gives her recommendations on the best crime fiction of 2019. Scottish poet Jackie Kay recommends the best books of Poetry. Another Scottish poet Robin Robertson—author of the verse novel The Long Take, shortlisted for the 2018 Man Booker Prize, told us about the books that influenced him.

Most recently Shuggie Bain, by Scottish author Douglas Stuart won the 2020 Booker Prize.

    The Best Books by Muriel Spark, recommended by Alan Taylor

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    The Best Books by Muriel Spark - The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark

    1

    The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
    by Muriel Spark

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    The Best Books by Muriel Spark - The Girls of Slender Means by Muriel Spark

    2

    The Girls of Slender Means
    by Muriel Spark

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    The Best Books by Muriel Spark - Symposium by Muriel Spark

    3

    Symposium
    by Muriel Spark

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    The Best Books by Muriel Spark - The Abbess of Crewe by Muriel Spark

    4

    The Abbess of Crewe
    by Muriel Spark

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    The Best Books by Muriel Spark - Curriculum Vitae by Muriel Spark

    5

    Curriculum Vitae
    by Muriel Spark

The Best Books by Muriel Spark, recommended by Alan Taylor

This year marks the centenary of the birth of the novelist, poet and essayist Muriel Spark, a singular voice of 20th century literature. Her 22 novels are slim and entertaining says Alan Taylor, author of Appointment in Arezzo, but beneath the jeux d’esprit lies a fearsome intellect. Here he selects five of her key works.

    The best books on The Highland Clearances, recommended by James Hunter

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    The best books on The Highland Clearances - Patrick Sellar and the Highland Clearances by Eric Richards

    1

    Patrick Sellar and the Highland Clearances
    by Eric Richards

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    The best books on The Highland Clearances - Patrick Sellar and the Highland Clearances by Eric Richards

    2

    Patrick Sellar and the Highland Clearances
    by Eric Richards

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    The best books on The Highland Clearances - Adventurers and Exiles by Marjory Harper

    3

    Adventurers and Exiles
    by Marjory Harper

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    The best books on The Highland Clearances - No Great Mischief by Alistair MacLeod

    4

    No Great Mischief
    by Alistair MacLeod

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    The best books on The Highland Clearances - From Wood to Ridge by Sorley MacLean

    5

    From Wood to Ridge
    by Sorley MacLean

The best books on The Highland Clearances, recommended by James Hunter

The Director of the Centre for History at the University of the Highlands and Islands talks to us about the history of the Highland Clearances in Scotland. Interesting reading on 19th Century Scottish history

    The Best Adam Smith Books, recommended by Dennis Rasmussen

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    The Best Adam Smith Books - Adam Smith in His Time and Ours by Jerry Muller

    1

    Adam Smith in His Time and Ours
    by Jerry Muller

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    The Best Adam Smith Books - The Theory of Moral Sentiments by Adam Smith

    2

    The Theory of Moral Sentiments
    by Adam Smith

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    The Best Adam Smith Books - Adam Smith and the Virtues of Enlightenment by Charles Griswold

    3

    Adam Smith and the Virtues of Enlightenment
    by Charles Griswold

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    The Best Adam Smith Books - The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith

    4

    The Wealth of Nations
    by Adam Smith

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    The Best Adam Smith Books - On Adam Smith's "Wealth of Nations": A Philosophical Companion by Samuel Fleischacker

    5

    On Adam Smith's "Wealth of Nations": A Philosophical Companion
    by Samuel Fleischacker

The Best Adam Smith Books, recommended by Dennis Rasmussen

Adam Smith tends to be seen as the founder of capitalism and modern economics, but he was, first and foremost, a moral philosopher. Dennis Rasmussen, author of The Infidel and the Professor—a book about Smith’s friendship with David Hume—selects the best books by and about Adam Smith.

    The best books on Jacobitism, recommended by Murray Pittock

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    The best books on Jacobitism - English Society 1660-1832 by Jonathan Clark

    1

    English Society 1660-1832
    by Jonathan Clark

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    The best books on Jacobitism - The History of Parliament: The House of Commons, 1715-1754 by Romney Sedgwick ed.

    2

    The History of Parliament: The House of Commons, 1715-1754
    by Romney Sedgwick ed.

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    The best books on Jacobitism - Jacobitism and the English People, 1688-1788 by Paul Monod

    3

    Jacobitism and the English People, 1688-1788
    by Paul Monod

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    The best books on Jacobitism - 1715: The Great Jacobite Rebellion by Daniel Szechi

    4

    1715: The Great Jacobite Rebellion
    by Daniel Szechi

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    The best books on Jacobitism - France and the Jacobite Rising of 1745 by Frank McLynn

    5

    France and the Jacobite Rising of 1745
    by Frank McLynn

The best books on Jacobitism, recommended by Murray Pittock

The failure of the Stuarts to win back the English or Scottish throne changed the course of history, enabling the buildup of a highly centralized British state and, possibly, America’s war for independence. Murray Pittock chooses the best books on Jacobitism, the 18th century phenomenon that nearly overthrew the British government.

    The Best Crime Fiction of 2019, recommended by Val McDermid

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    The Best Crime Fiction of 2019 - My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

    1

    My Sister, the Serial Killer
    by Oyinkan Braithwaite

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    The Best Crime Fiction of 2019 - This Mortal Boy by Fiona Kidman

    2

    This Mortal Boy
    by Fiona Kidman

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    The Best Crime Fiction of 2019 - The Lost Man by Jane Harper

    3

    The Lost Man
    by Jane Harper

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    The Best Crime Fiction of 2019 - American by Day by Derek B Miller

    4

    American by Day
    by Derek B Miller

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    The Best Crime Fiction of 2019 - A Dark Matter by Doug Johnstone

    5

    A Dark Matter
    by Doug Johnstone

The Best Crime Fiction of 2019, recommended by Val McDermid

It’s been a great year for crime fiction – with soaring sales and global bestsellers emerging from writers all over the world. Crime writing is rightly in the ascendancy, says the celebrated Scottish novelist Val McDermid as she selects the best crime fiction of 2019: five books that stand as great novels in their own right.

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We ask experts to recommend the five best books in their subject and explain their selection in an interview.

This site has an archive of more than one thousand interviews, or five thousand book recommendations. We publish at least two new interviews per week.

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