I’m a big fan of the writing of Samuel Rutherford Crockett. I read and thoroughly enjoyed his novel, The Black Douglas. Maid Margaret is described as the sequel to The Black Douglas, but I enjoyed it even more. The first reason is because it is a much more personal account of the turbulent times of fifteenth century Scotland, times that were dominated by the internecine war between the Douglas and Stewart Houses. The second and more important reason is because it is narrated by the Maid of Galloway herself – or by Crockett impersonating her. And what an impersonation!
After only a few pages, you’ll forget that this is a man writing as a woman. Across the lifetime of the Maid, from petulant teens to creaky dotage, you’ll experience her joys and pains and anguish. You’ll rejoice with her at love found and you’ll grieve with her at love lost. And throughout the whole of the narrative, you’ll find that Crockett does not fail in his task of being the Maid – not once. I believe he has achieved something in this book that none of his contemporaries, not even the sainted RLS, could have accomplished. He is an astonishing writer. And Maid Margaret is an astonishing book.
You can buy the paperback at the unco online bookstore and receive the eBook free into the bargain. Or you can download the Kindle from Amazon.
I hope this and my three previous contributions have persuaded you to at least have a wee gander at the work of this wonderful and woefully neglected Scots author. You’ll find the other contributions at these links:
My Favourite Crockett Novel – Until the Next One
A Scots Classic Revisited
A Scots Game of Thrones
Brendan Gisby