Scotland
Highland Clearances
The
Highland Clearances In this account of the Highland Clearances
of the 18th century, Eric Richards draws attention to the
brutal evictions as being one amongst many solutions to the
problem of maintaining marginal and unfertile land and reasserts
that as we enter the 21st century, we have yet to find a solution.
The
Unbroken Harp
This novel, from a foremost expert on the Clearances, tells
the story of Flo Campbell and her eviction from the family's
island home, and all her subsequent struggles. The compelling
storyline has terrific energy, from the Battle of the Braes
and Flo's departure from the island to her travels and employment
on Skye and beyond. Flo's spirit remains unquenched whether
challenged by the faithlessness of lovers or the callousness
of employers and she is a historical witness who embodies
the undying memories of her Highland people. She spends much
of her life in the lowlands of Britain and in this as in many
ways she incarnates the crofters, fishermen, labourers and
artists who spring from that epic northern terrain. This is
a masterful portrayal of the perverse power and wretched consequences
of the Clearances and how they transformed the lives of individuals,
and also the power of a native landscape in a Celtic breast.
The
Stonemason: Donald Macleod's... Chronicle of Scotland's
Highland Clearances.
Patrick
Sellar and the Highland... Clearances: Homicide, Eviction
and the Price of Progress. In April 1816, Patrick Sellar was
brought to trial in Inverness for culpable homicide in the
manner of his treatment of the Highlanders of Strathnaver.
This is an account of Sellar's life and times. It shows that
he was ruthless and cruel, but also that he had a streak of
idealism: did he really believe that the displaced Highlanders
would be better off, better fed, educated and housed in their
new homes? Have the Highlanders in the end become more productive
and prosperous? The author examines such questions as these,
showing there is a case for Sellar's defence as well as for
his prosecution.
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