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 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 - ...

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...

Two novels inspired by the author’s personal experience in British Intelligence during the First World War: in which Naval Intelligence officer Roger Waterlow, stuck ashore in a sweltering country in South-eastern Europe, and working from scraps of gossip gathered by his ramshackle network of agents, struggles to make a real difference in the war, against the indifference and incompetence of the British authorities. First, in Extremes Meet, he seeks to show up a blatant violation ...

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

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...

A prolific writer of fiction, biography, histories, and memoir, as well as a cultural commentator, raconteur, and lifelong Scottish nationalist.ContentsSinister Street, vol. 1Sinister Street, vol. 2Poor RelationsThe Early Life and Adventures of Sylvia ScarlettThe Vanity GirlCarnivalKensington RhymesPlashers Mead,Sylvia & MichaelThe Altar StepsRich RelativesThe Passionate ElopementGuy and Pauli...

With the spirited and unforgettable Sylvia Scarlett, a character acclaimed as being 'one of the few really great women in fiction', Compton Mackenzie brings us his very own Becky Sharp. Originally published in two volumes, this complete edition follows her fortunes from childhood and marriage, through her escape into prostitution and her later career as a singer and cabaret artiste, until at last she finds romance with Michael Fane.A tale weaved with Dickensian skill and humour in ...

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 ...

Prelude at six o’clock on the morning of Ash Wednesday in the year 1847, the Honorable Charles Cunningham sat sipping his coffee in the restaurant of the Vendanges de Bourgogne. He was somewhat fatigued by the exertions that as “lion” of the moment he had felt bound to make, exertions that had included a display of English eccentricity and had culminated in a cotillion at a noble house in the Faubourg St.-Germain, the daughter of which had been assigned to him by Parisian gossip as his fut...

The Complete Works of Compton MacKenzieThis Complete Collection includes the following titles:--------1 - The Altar Steps2 - Carnival3 - Plashers Mead4 - Sinister Street, vol. 15 - Sinister Street, vol. 26 - The Passionate Elopement7 - Poor Relations8 - Kensington Rhymes9 - Rich Relatives10 - The Vanity Girl11 - The Early Life and Adventures of Sylvia Scarlett12 - Guy and Pauline...

"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...