Books about Mull and Iona

Benmore

	Martin Martin Martin Martin, who was a native of Skye, published his Description of the Western Isles of Scotland in 1703. His chapter headed Mull makes fascinating reading today for anyone who knows the island. A facsimile reprint of the 1716 edition was published in 1976 by James Thin, Edinburgh.
	Boswell and Johnson James Boswell and Doctor Johnson visited Mull in 1773, when Johnson was 63 and Boswell 32. Johnson published his A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland in 1775. Boswell's Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides with Samuel Johnson LL.D. came out in 1786. A modern edition of both titles in one volume is available.
	ISBN 0 14 043221 3 Penguin Books 1984
	Robert Louis Stevenson In Stevenson's Kidnapped (1886), after being shipwrecked on the Torran Rocks, David Balfour is cast ashore on the island of Erraid, just off the south-west corner of Mull. He later crosses Mull from west to east on his way to Edinburgh.
	Stevenson had been familiar with the area when a boy, although he admits, in the Dedication, to taking some liberties with the geography! If you haven't got a copy, the complete text is available on the Internet.
	On-line books from The Gallery, Tobermory (Scottish Island Shopping)

	Mull in the Making By Rosalind Jones The story of Mull & Iona's incredible 2800 million year geological history. 'It caters for the non geologist drawn to Mull for the space and solitutde which the island affords.' - Eric Robinson, Geologist's Association Click on the image to enlarge
	Island Voices By Ann MacKenzie Island Voices is a fascinating anthology of the tales and traditions of North Mull. The subjects throughout are timeless: local belief and superstition, pastimes, work, health and cures, tales and proverbs. Taken from a broad range of sources - both written and oral - it offers a penetrating and insightful view of the island experience, from Martin Martin in the seventeenth century to the end of the Second World War, a time which saw huge changes in Gaelic society as a whole. While many of the pieces show with devastating clarity how harsh island life has been over the centuries, they also illustrate the sharpness of phrase, shrewdness of observation and humour characteristic of the West Highlands and Islands. Island Voices is a celebration of a people who are often excluded from the standard historical accounts of the clans and Highlands, but who have endured much and safeguarded an important heritage. ANN MACKENZIE was born in Argyll but has strong family connections to Mull, Ulva and Lewis. After studying in Edinburgh, where she was involved in museum, photographic archive work and research, she returned to Mull to work on the Muile air Mheamhair oral history project. Click on the image to enlarge
	Iona The living memory of a crofting community By E. Mairi MacArthur The Hebridean island of Iona has been the focus of intense outside interest for over 1,400 years, from the time of Saint Columba's monastery in the sixth century through to the transfer of its renowned monuments into the care of Historic Scotland in the year 2000. Yet the people who lived and worked alongside its sacred sited have been largely overshadowed - until now. This book is the first to redress the balance, taking an in-depth look at Iona's economic and social history during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, a period that saw profound change across the Highlands and Islands. Click on the image to enlarge
	Mull & Iona (Pevenskey Island Guides) By P A MacNab Remote, romantic and often mysterious, the islands off the coast of Scotland hold a strong fascination for thousands of visitors each year. Focusing on Mull and Iona, this title is one of a series of illustrated guidebooks providing information on heritage, landscape, climate, flora and fauna. Click on the image to enlarge
	Walk Oban, Mull and Lochaber Richard Hallewell 0004486978 A selection of 40 walks from one of Scotland's most popular areas, each featuring an easy-to-follow map and step-by-step route directions. The guide also includes descriptions of points of interest along the way. Click on the image to enlarge
	Oban, Mull and Kintyre Walks (Pathfinder... This guide covers the area of the ancient Scottish kingdom of Argyll, and its routes range from mainland walks around Oban and on the Cowal and Kintyre peninsulas to walks on the larger Hebridean islands of Mull and Islay. Click on the image to enlarge
	The Isle of Mull: The Isle of Mull: Tranquility and Spectacular Beauty in the Inner Hebrides (Island Tributes) Alastair de Watteville Book Description This book , the second in our island tribute series, extols the attractions of the isle of mull. It is the first book about Mull to have been published since 1972, and is the first ever with colour illustrations. Click on the image to enlarge here to purchase
	Mull: The Island and Its People By Jo Currie The story of Mull has never been fully told. This book explores the history of the island in the 18th and 19th centuries. Drawing on research in the original correspondence of the principle families of the island - Macleans and Maclaines - Jo Currie relates how shortage of money among landowners, taxmen, subtenants and cottars brought about confrontations which resulted in the virtual disappearance of most of the native population in a series of emigrations which were not always due to eviction. Click on the image to enlarge here to purchase in UK £
	The Isle of Mull Placenames, Meanings and Stories By Charles Maclean B.Sc., C.Eng. M.I.C.E., M.I.H.E. This excellent book will be of interest to both those who live on Mull and those who visit the island. The author has collected, from many sources, facts and stories on many placenames. They give an insight into the turbulent history of Mull through the centuries. Some of the stories have been told to the author by his friends on Mull and have never been published before. Click on the image to enlarge here to purchase
	The Terror of Tobermory - Vice Admiral Sir Gilbert Stephenson KBE, CB, CMC By Richard Baker It was as Commodore HMS Western Isls that Sir Gilbert Stephenson earned his nickname, 'The Terror of Tobermory'. Responsible for the training of new recruits in Tobermory harbour on the isle of Mull, Stephenson moulded hundreds of inexperienced recruits into trained and disciplined sailors. During the Battle of the Atlantic, ships manned by Tobermory-trained sailors were responsible for sinking at least one hundred and thirty enemy U-boats and shooting down over forty enemy aircraft. Richard Baker served on convoy vessels during the war and was sent for training to Tobermory, where he first met this legendary figure. His book is less a formal biography than an attempt to capture the personality of one of the great characters of our time. Tobermory was the peak of Sir Gilbert's career, but the author does not neglect the rest of this remarkable man's life, and writes about him with genuine warmth and sympathy. '. . . provides a fascinating insight into the RN during its imperial heyday' - Broadly Boats Click on the image to enlarge here to purchase

Last updated 13/06/2007