Margaret Elphinstone, a graduate of Durham University and Emeritus Professor of Strathclyde University, is the author of ten previous novels and two books on organic gardening. Her historical novels include The Sea Road, Voyageurs, Light and The Gathering Night. The Sea Road, published in 2000, received a Scottish Arts Council Award and earned a place in The List magazine's 100 Best Scottish Books of All Time. She really thought she would write no more novels, but then came Lost People. https://www.margaretelphinstone.co.uk/

The writing is beautiful, especially the voice of Rue, the troubled, vulnerable, highly intelligent young person who tells the story. Margaret Elphinstone has created a world simultaneously strange and familiar. It is a novel unlike any I have read for some time.James Robertson, poet and novelist Here is a story of trauma, the kindness of strangers and the healing power of animals and plants ... Lost People is a gem-like wisdom-tale of perfect clarity and depth.Kathleen Jamie, Scotland's Makar Lost People is a precious gift. It opens up sanctuaries and pathways through scented herb gardens, through by-ways of restoration for all who find themselves lost ... Once again Margaret Elphinstone has made worlds which never flinch from the consequences of war but help us find ways into the work of healing, peace and refuge.Alison Phipps, UNESCO Chair for Refugee Integration through Languages and Arts at the University of Glasgow A timeless, mesmerising jewel of a story, balm for the soul.Mandy Haggith, poet and novelist This is a story of lyrical urgency, beautifully told; gift, adventure and manifesto from a writer of wonders and lament.Martyn Halsall, poet and journalistThe book is beautifully written, and the author's humanity shines through it very clearly, as does her knowledge of gardens and plants. There's a clarity of expression in the narrative which makes it easy to read, and yet there are layers of meaning within it. Very satisfying.Colin Will, poet