Advent Reading Challenge Day Twenty Two

A Book Set in the Countryside

A few days ago, I wrote about meeting and interviewing Sally Magnusson. She wasn’t the first BBC journalist I worked with though. That was Kirsty Wark, whose event, in anticipation, was the most daunting I’ve done.  Like many people I knew her as the fearsome presenter of Newsnight where she deals resolutely with intractable politicians and business types; and I wondered how she would react to being on the other side.  I had been slightly reassured by author Elizabeth Laird when I bumped into her at the Edinburgh Book Festival a few weeks before.  Kirsty was lovely, she said, and I’d have a great time.  Both of those statements turned out to be true.

Kirsty came to the Spirit of Moray Book Festival in Elgin to talk about her debut novel, The Legacy of Elizabeth Pringle.  It’s the story of two mothers and daughters and also the story of twentieth century Arran, an island dear to Kirsty’s heart.  At its heart there is a secret which remains cleverly hidden as the story unfolds.  It is very much a story of women’s lives across a century that saw new horizons opening up to them.  I had loved the book and the opportunity to discuss it with Kirsty was an unexpected bonus.  And Kirsty turned out to be warm and witty and eloquent.  Altogether it was a memorable evening for me.

And, yes, I do know that Arran, being an island, might not be the most obvious choice for a book set in the countryside, but lots of it is rural. And this is a great book!