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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #102486 in Books
• Published on: 2007-04-19
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

William Dalrymple
'Maggie Fergusson’s biography is a deftly written and convincingly craggy portrait of this Orcadian genius’

Review
'In Maggie Fergusson, Mackay Brown has had the good fortune to find the kind of biographer with whom every writer should be blessed. She writes lucidly, with restraint and without sentimentality. Her affection and sympathy for her subject shine through but she never shirks from showing his darker side. He was a deeply troubled man cursed with melancholia whose legacy was prose and poetry of luminous virtuosity. If there is a better biography of a 20th century Scottish writer I look forward to reading it' (Sunday Herald 20060427)

‘Outstanding… This is an extraordinarily good book; it is sensitive, witty and has an excellent sense of the vitality of the apparently unimportant details that make up lives and characters.’

(Lucy Lethbridge, New Statesman 20060428)

‘An affectionate but clear-sighted biography. Read it alongside his Collected Poems and step into the ‘small green world’ of [the Orkneys]’

(The Times 20060415)

'Unmissable'

(Glasgow Herald 20060429)

‘[Fergusson’s] biography is infused with love and understanding of the man and his work… she writes with a delicate precision’

(Sunday Times, Jeremy Lewis 20060520)

‘Through his letter and conversations with many friends, Maggie Ferguson discovers that George’s life was vivid, courageous and surprising’

(Scottish Field 20060603)

'He deserves a good biography but has got a magnificent one; sympathetic, affectionate, but not glossing over his weaknesses'

 

(Allan Massie, Daily Telegraph 20060801)

'This subtle, sensitive, beautifully-written biography is a superb example of an author wholly in tune with her subject'

(Sunday Telegraph 20060801)

'His world, in all its wondrous ordinariness, has been brought beautifully to life by Maggie Fergusson's painstakingly faithful labour of love . . . Exquisite and constantly illuminating ' - Sean O'Hagan

(Observer 20060801)

‘George Mackay Brown was the most elegiac and profoundly rooted of twentieth-century Scottish writers. Maggie Fergusson’s biography is a deftly written and convincingly craggy portrait of this Orcadian genius’ (William Dalrymple 20060801)

‘Maggie Fergusson has captured the essence of the man with insight and elegance.’

(Sunday Daily Express (Tom Fullerton) )

'An excellent and surprising biography'

(Kathleen Jamie, Guardian )

‘This is an outstanding biography: deeply researched, sympathetic and full of insight into George Mackay Brown’s magical ability to make poetry out of the simple ingredients of landscape, history and faith, it brings this extraordinary man to life on every page’ (Claire Tomalin )

'She has drawn a portrait of this man which is both the perfect companion for a rereading of his works and also a fascinating story in its own right...This is an altogether remarkable book. I know it will be unforgettable, and that it will draw me back to many rereadings...It is that rare thing, a biography which is itself a work of literature, the story not merely of a lonely, weird man in an isolated part of the United Kingdom, but of an inner journey which the reader follows enraptured, every bit as exciting and strange as the life-journeys of men of action.'

(Spectator )

‘Clear, detailed, vigilant, droll and beautifully written, this biography achieves what only the best accounts of a life can: the scent and texture of the departed subject’s spirit, and, in this case, the spirit of a very particular place, which Maggie Fergusson conveys with the grace of the born writer’ (Candia McWilliam )

This is a truly magnificent achievement. One sign of an outstanding biography is when those who knew – or thought they knew – the subject find surprises and fresh illumination on nearly every page. This beautifully written book evokes both Orkney and the spirit of its master story-teller with a delicate yet unostentatious skill which is the literary equivalent of perfect pitch ... Maggie Fergusson may not have said the last word, but she has stylishly delivered the best and most brilliantly satisfying word so far'

(Herald )

'Unmissable'

(Glasgow Herald )

‘From this unpromising hank of material, Maggie Fergusson has fashioned an affectionate and enlightening life of the poet George Mackay Brown.’

(Literary Review (Andro Linklater ) )

'A significant monument to an elegiac writer of genuine literary muscle' - Iain Finlayson

(The Times )

'An outstanding work of research which no-one interested in George Mackay Brown can afford to be without . . . This is a distinguished example of the art of the biography, beautifully produced in every respect . . . at once sympathetic and professional'

(Orcadian )

'And, behold, a miracle! In one of his many letters (and this book makes me long for a big collected edition of his letters) Brown wrote "There must be a secret wisdom inside us all that directs our lives, often against our wills and desires". Maggie Fergusson seems to have tapped into this secret wisdom. She has drawn a portrait of this man which is both the perfect companion for a rereading of his works and also a fascinating story in its own right...She herself writes with a poet's accuracy. The setting of the Orcadian scene in the opening pages is masterly, but she also has the poet's knowledge of when to produce the telling detail....As well as being a preternaturally acute exponent of what makes Brown's poetry work, Maggie Fergusson is wonderfully wise and deep in her explorations of his emotional and religious life.. 'This is an altogether remarkable book. I know it will be unforgettable, and that it will draw me back to many rereadings. It is that rare thing, a biography whi (Statesman )

'After reading this book every reader will feel at home in the harsh, rewarding world of the Orkneys'

 

(Independent )

'Remarkable man. Remarkable art. Fine book that illuminates them both'

(Scotsman )

'Strangely, this is what I would call an inspiriting story...and it is very well told'

(Spectator )

‘Fergusson’s biography of Scottish poet George Mackay Brown ignores the modern trend of looking down gleefully from a dunghill height at the subject.’

(Irish Times )

‘A stimulating and elegantly written biography, an excellent companion to Mackay Brown’s “Collected Poems”, which were co-edited by… Archie Bevan, and appeared last year from the same publisher, John Murray.’

(The Economist )

‘Maggie Fergusson treats Brown’s sexuality with delicacy and respect’

(Times Literary Supplement )

‘Loving study’

(Jeremy Lewis, The Sunday Times )

‘One of the best lives of a poet I have ever read is Maggie Fergusson’s George Mackay Brown. She creeps up, not only on her subject, but also on her reader, wooing and cunning. Out of his inner life in a remote place, Fergusson has made a great book about a great man. She is brilliant at understanding the things which did not happen, as well as the things which did, in her subject’s life (sex, for example). I seldom feel envy when reading modern books, but I wish I wrote as well as she has done’

(An Wilson, The Observer )

‘A real treat: a sensitive record of a neglected modern poet that made a convincing argument for his genius’

(Tim Martin, Daily Telegraph )

Claire Tomalin
'An outstanding biography: deeply researched, sympathetic and full of insight ... It brings this extraordinary man to life on every page’

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Customer Reviews

a wonderful biography and a most involving read
This book was shortlisted for the Costa (formerly Whitbread) Prize, and it comes with the imprimatur of Claire Tomalin, foremost of modern biographers - 'an outstanding biography ... it brings this extraordinary man to life on every page'. I found it absolutely marvellous. In his posthumously published autobiography, 'For the Islands I Sing', George Mackay Brown was highly selective, as he was quite entitled to be. This book fills in many, many gaps, it is beautifully written, it holds the attention on every page and, by so doing, it gives the reader a fuller and more satisfying apprecation of the work of this unique and uniquely wonderful Orkney writer. In particular, and most sensitively, it explores his relationships with women, and they form a key and very poignant element in the book. The relationship between life and work is underpinned by extensive, judicious quotation, and so often the poems or parts of poems seem to grow out of the page, so well has the biographer done her job. I am so pleased that the job has been so well done. GMB deserved it.

Orkney's Finest Weaver of Tales and Poetry
This is a highly readable biography of the extraordinary writer that was George Mackay Brown. He lived most of his life in Orkney, but his novels, short stories and poetry have the complexity, language, imagination and spirituality of a much-travelled man. GMB did not have an easy life and remained puzzled by (and uncomfortable with) his celebrity. He did not enjoy good health for much of his life; he lived simply and was a modest man but not one of those tortured souls grinding out poetry in guilt-ridden angst. He was more complex than he appeared, with a spiritual, almost holy, feel for the past that he was able to share through the prism of Orkney. I learned much from this biography, which dips into a range of sources, both personal and published. It is wonderful to see where some of GMB's inspiration came from. He was certainly one of Britain's greatest poets (and that's saying something). His writings are well worth exploring - they really are a joy. This well-written biography is a good introduction to the man, but you are likely only to find the real GMB through his writing, and that is a journey well worth making. Highly recommended.

Island Magic
Summary: beautifully written, easy to read, in-depth study, warts and all.
Reviewer: an island lover from Hampshire.

As an avid reader of all GMB's work, including his own autobiography, I was apprehensive as to whether Maggie Fergusson's book was going to be either over-sentimental or lacking in depth.
It was neither. It detailed the key influences and events in GMB's life and the background to his major works. I was particularly impressed with the clear and straightforward way that GMB's sexuality was descibed. The descriptions of Orkney (as a frequent visitor)were beautiful; a fundamental influence on GMB's writing and his keen sense of hospitality.
One small request is to have a bibliography in future editions and please leave out 'Through the Eye of a Needle' in the title; it has no meaning?
Overall a wonderful book about a fascinating man.