Michael Fane arrives in the thin red house in Carlington Road to his new family of Nurse, Cook, Annie the housemaid, his younger sister Stella, and the occasional presence of Mother. From here, the novel follows the next twenty years of his life as he tries to find his place in the upper echelons of Edwardian society, through prep school, studies at Oxford, and his emergence into the wide world. The setting is rich in period detail, and the characters portrayed are vivid and more nuanced i...

It's 1955 and the Pallas Players, an all-female theatre company, are putting on a play: Whisky Galore.They transport us back to 1943 on the Scottish islands of Great and Little Todday, where the whisky supply has dried up because of the war, leaving tensions running high. Relief seems to be at hand when a ship carrying 50,000 bottles of whisky is wrecked just offshore. Then it's every thirsty man for himself as the islanders try to rescue as many bottles as possible before...

THE meagre sun that for thirteen pallid February days had shone with no more brilliance than a rushlight stuck amid the cobwebs of a garret, poured down at last his profuse glories, and Curtain Wells woke up to a fine morning and the burden of conscious existence, with an effort all the more completely unanimous on account of its reputation as an inland Spa. Residence there implied an almost monastick ideal of regularity. Other shrines of Æsculapius, falling from their primitive purity of ...

The Best Works of Compton MacKenzieCarnivalGuy and PaulinePlashers MeadSinister Street, vol. 1Sylvia & MichaelThe Altar StepsThe Early Life and Adventures of Sylvia Scarlett

CONTENTS: ALEXANDER PUSHKIN 1. The Queen of Spades ALGERNON BLACKWOOD: 2. Confession 3. S. O. S. 4. The Wings of Horus ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE 5. B. 24 ARTHUR O. FRIEL: 6. The Spider 7. The Vulture ARTHUR QUILLER-COUCH: 8. Statement of Gabriel Foot, Highwayman 9. The Affair of Bleakirk-on-Sands 10. The Countess of Bellarmine ARTHUR STRINGER: 11. The Adolescence of Number Eighty-Seven 12. The Button Thief 13. The Wire-Tappers ARTHUR TRAIN: 14. Extradition 15. The Baron de Ville 16. The Golden To...

It's 1943 and the war has brought rationing to the Hebridean islands of Great and Little Todday. When food is in short supply, it is bad enough, but when the whisky runs out, it looks like the end of the world.Morale is at rock bottom. George Campbell needs a wee dram to give him the courage to stand up to his mother and marry Catriona. The priest, the doctor and, of course, the landlord at the inn are all having a very thin time of it. There's no conversation, no jolity, no fun - ...

Aileen has lost her parents and she is now solely responsible for herself and her younger brother. She is jaded and no longer wants to look for love because she is not even sure if true love even exists. Or if it is attainable for her. Suitors are plenty, but she is afraid to give her heart and risk having it broken.Quinn has recently become the Laird of the village, a huge responsibility for him yet all he can think about is the mysterious and beautiful girl he saw in the village....

Sir Compton Mackenzie, (1883–1972) was a prolific writer of fiction, biography, histories, and memoir, as well as a cultural commentator, raconteur, and lifelong Scottish nationalist.It is described by Dr. John MacInnes (formerly of the School of Scottish Studies) as "one of the greatest works of English literature produced in the twentieth century."Sylvia & MichaelGuy and Pauline, 1915The Early Life and Adventures of Sylvia, 1918Scarle...

"The Altar Steps" is set in the Hebrides, a group of islands off the northwest coast of Scotland, and explores the clash between tradition and modernity in a small island community. The novel delves into the lives of the inhabitants, their relationships, and their struggles with religious and moral dilemmas.The story follows the main character, Archibald Munro, a young man who returns to his island home after studying in Edinburgh. Munro finds himself caught between the conservative tradit...

The story revolves around Jasmine Grant, a young woman of modest means who finds herself entangled with her wealthy relatives. Through Jasmine's interactions with her eccentric and affluent family members, Mackenzie offers a satirical look at the upper echelons of British society. The novel humorously critiques the quirks and excesses of the rich, while also highlighting the contrasts between different social classes.Mackenzie's sharp wit and keen observational skills are evident in his po...

"Sinister Street" is a bildungsroman, or coming-of-age story, that follows the life and experiences of its protagonist, Michael Fane. The novel begins with Michael's childhood in the fictional English village of Scarsmoor and traces his journey to adulthood in London.As Michael grows older, he becomes increasingly disillusioned with the constraints of small-town life and yearns for adventure and excitement. Against the wishes of his family, he decides to move to London to pursue his dreams...

Chester Royde, an American millionaire, travels to Scotland with his new bride Carrie and sister Myrtle, to find out more about Carrie's Scottish ancestry. Their new 'relatives' turn out to be a little more authentically Scottish than they bargained for. Ben Nevis, Laird of Glenbogle Castle, is fiercely protective of his lands and the Macdonald clan spirit, but being cash-strapped he's not above attempts to marry heiress Myrtle to one of his many brawny sons. But then a group of hikers stu...