An Innocent in Scotland: More Curious Rambles and Singular Encounters - Softcover

David McFadden

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0771055285 ISBN 13: 9780771055287

Publisher: McClelland & Stewart, 1999

Synopsis

In 1995, David W. McFadden published An Innocent in Ireland: Curious Rambles and Singular Encounters, a quirky and affectionate account of his travels around Ireland. In undertaking the trip, he chose as his guide H. V. Morton, the prolific travel writer of the 1920s and 1930s, whose In Search of Ireland (part of Morton’s famous In Search of... series) had been familiar to him since childhood.

Now, setting out to explore Scotland, his family’s ancestral home, McFadden plans to use the same technique: to follow Morton’s route around the country, observing how things have changed and in what ways they remain the same. As in An Innocent in Ireland, however, his own inquiring mind and engaging personality take over, and Morton appears less and less as McFadden becomes increasingly absorbed by the landscape – and particularly by the people.

Starting in the Lowlands, he travels through Burns country (examining verses that Burns is alleged to have inscribed on a Dumfries window with his diamond ring) and up the east coast to the Highlands. There he lingers by Loch Ness (spotting nothing but tourists), before heading over to the west coast and falling in love with it – particularly with the islands of Mull and Iona. Through the entire trip, McFadden charts an erratic course, led only by H. V. Morton and his own acute eye and very lively curiosity. As he does so, he records his extremely personal impressions, which are wry, amused – and often more astute than he lets on.

The reader won’t find many of the traditional Scottish tourist sites in this account. Rather, as in An Innocent in Ireland, McFadden loves a good chat, and he wisely lets the many characters he meets speak for themselves. He gives generous attention to a variety of talkative barmen, hoteliers, shopkeepers, as well as to passersby that he encounters in the course of his travels. Their conversations, ranging from the instructive or humorous to the eccentric and even surreal, give a thoroughly entertaining view of a Scotland the guidebooks never reveal.

Still quirky, affectionate, always ready to be intrigued or amused, David McFadden makes an ideal companion for any armchair traveller.

About this title

About the Author

David W. McFadden has published over twenty books of poetry and prose, including Gypsy Guitar, nominated for a Governor General’s Award in 1987 and The Art of Darkness, nominated for a Governor General’s Award in 1984. He lives in Toronto.

Reviews

A wisecracking, colloquial travelogue of Scotland in all its smirr (a constant, fine rain) and glory. McFadden, the author of over 20 books of prose and poetry, retraces the path of H.V. Morton, a prolific travel writer of the 1920s, across Scotland, using Morton's text as a lens through which to refract his own observations. And while McFadden complains about his muse's sentimentality, he suffers much the same fate as he bombs around the countryside in his wee rental car and waxes generic about various postcard scenes. In his words, Loch Ness becomes ``an area of deeply serene beauty, with a blue mist rising from the long, narrow loch, deep as time itself (as Morton would say).'' Most scenery receives similar treatment, and, once it's been dispensed with, McFadden proceeds to indulge his true interest: tourist watching. He's far more interested in people than in places, and his chapters read like long series of chance encounters, which is what they are. Most such encounters are banal, but a fewsuch as his chat with a student taking tickets at the Duart Castleoffer tantalizing information. Apparently the McFaddens (from whom the author is descended) were known as ``tinkers'' and ``hangers-on'' to the McLeans. While the complexity of clan rivalries is only hinted at, the student's comments seem to indicate that names still carry considerable power: respect can still be accorded (or denied) on the basis of ancient clan affiliation. And in that moment, present and past converge: suddenly, Scotland doesnt seem so far removed from Ireland, with its tribal and religious divisions, or even the Balkans. But McFadden is content to skim the surface of Scottish culture, never delving too far into its fascinating clan hierarchies or ancient hatreds. An Innocent in Scotland is just that; McFadden has produced a saccharine, easy book that glosses both national character and historical context. -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

McFadden brings wit, verve and a talent for dialogue to this chronicle of his summer's wander through Scotland. Following a formula familiar from a previous work (An Innocent in Ireland), McFadden loosely traces the path of H.V. Morton (In Search of Scotland), a 1920s travel writer whose books on Ireland and Scotland serve as a rough framing device for his own book. McFadden's journey unfolds as a collection of anecdotes, loosely grouped around one site or region (Miracle at St. Ninian's Cave; High Road to Glasgow). The traveler deftly captures the spontaneity of his many conversations and willingly partakes in the local flavorAeven when it includes haggis, a pudding made from sheep viscera, or Bovril, a hearty brew that "looked like coffee, smelled like roast beef." He provides intriguing historical background to the places he visits, failing only when he stops at Loch Ness and leaves its alluring legend completely unfathomed. But McFadden generally steers clear of traditional attractions, being happier instead to highlight a windy wheat field that looks "like schools of green fish in yellow waters," to share the "brilliant Dark Age compromise" of how Aberdeen got its name, or to point out the country shop that, with more deference to pride than grammar, boasts, "We fry in vegetable oil." Entertaining and descriptive, McFadden's book will leave readers with an enlightened sense of the Scottish way of life. (Sept.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

McFadden is a well-known Canadian author of more than 20 travel, literature, and poetry books. As in his previous book, An Innocent in Ireland, McFadden tries to follow in the footsteps of travel writer H.V. Morton. Of course, he frequently discusses Morton's opinions and even has several "conversations" with him. However, the bulk of McFadden's writing describes the places he visits and repeats many of the conversations he had along the way. These conversations, with bartenders, inn owners, clerks, and the like, give a glimpse of everyday Scotland; as in reality, some of the conversations are quite amusing while others are uninspiring. The author's search for stories about the McFadden clan is interesting, and his sense of humor and enthusiasm for the countryside are refreshing. However, the writing, although quite descriptive and detailed, is a bit uneven and sometimes flat. Recommended only for public libraries with large travel sections.AKathleen A. Shanahan, Kensington, MD
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

McFadden journeys through Scottish terrain as he follows in the footsteps of his spiritual mentor, H. V. Morton, an outstanding travel writer of a half-century ago. He has other purposes for his trip, though, which include learning more about his ancestors and visiting the country of the poet Robert Burns. Along the way, McFadden meets fellow travelers from diverse parts, shopkeepers and innkeepers who feed not only his stomach but his inquisitive mind with anecdotes and tall tales. McFadden, a Canadian whose works include An Innocent in Ireland (1995), other travel memoirs, fiction, and poetry, revels in meeting all these people, whether it's around the breakfast table, discussing politics with locals over a pint at the pub, or teasing workers at historic castles as he tests their knowledge of the lore of the lairds and the land. Some of his new acquaintances are the salt of the earth, others the pepper, but his charming reportage will make the reader comfortable and curious about this beautiful part of the British Empire. Ron Kaplan

Edition details

• Publisher: McClelland & Stewart
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0771055285
• ISBN 13: 9780771055287
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 346