Robin Jenkins – författare

This volume is part of a new series of novels, plays and stories at GCSE/Key Stage 4 level, designed to meet the needs of the National Curriculum syllabus. Each text includes an introduction, pre-reading activities, notes and coursework activities. Also provided is a section on the process of writing, often compiled by the author. This is the story of two brothers, Calum and Neil, who work in the forest of a large Scottish estate. But the harmony of their life together is shadowed by the dark obsessive hatred of Duror, the gamekeeper.

In the shadow of a war that rages through Europe, brothers Calum and Neil work to gather pine cones in the grounds of a Scottish estate. When Calum releases two mutilated rabbits from a snare, he comes face to face with Duror, the gamekeeper. In retaliation, in the depths of the wood, Duror lays a trap for the cone-gatherers.Neil prophesises that forces of evil will encroach upon the harmony of their lives. It is a prophesy that comes true when Duror commits an act so brutal it destroys all sense of humanity in the once thriving wood. Powerful and unforgettable, Robin Jenkins' masterpiece is a haunting story of love and violence, and an investigation of class-conflict, war and envy.

'Half Scotland sniggered and the other half scowled, when in letters to the Scotsman and the Glasgow Herald, I put forward my suggestion that prisoners in Scottish jails be allowed to wear their kilts as their national birthright if such be their wish.'From his origins as an illegitimate child in the slums of Glasgow, Fergus Lamont sets out to reclaim his inheritance and to remake his identity as soldier, poet and would-be aristocrat.Covering the years from the turn of the century to the Second World War, Fergus's unforgettable voice recounts a tale of vanity, success and betrayal which shines its own sardonic light on Scotland and the cultural and political issues of the day.At odds with his origins and unsettled in his aristocratic pretensions, Fergus Lamont reaches middle age before he is offered at least the hope of redemption in a love affair with an island woman.How it turns out and what he learns too late, adds a tragic dimension to the scathing humour of this, Robin Jenkins's most searching exploration of the modern Scottish psyche.

Thirteen-year-old Tom Curdie, the product of a Glasgow slum, is on probation for theft. His teachers admit that he is clever, but only one, Charlie Forbes, sees something in Tom and his seemingly insolent smile. So, Forbes decides to take Tom on holiday with his own family, with tragic consequences.From one of Scotland's greatest writers, The Changeling explores how goodness and innocence is compromised when faced with the pressures of growing up and becoming part of society.

Thinking rationally and writing clearly are two sides of the same coin, Both have tremendous value as career and life skills, in that those who do them well are more likely to be successful. Unfortunately, surveys of employers show that most people, even college graduates, are not particularly proficient at either. This book aims to address that deficit, exploring the link between thinking and writing and revealing, in accessible language, how to excel at both. The updated second edition includes new chapters on critical reading and audience analysis.

When the children of Gowburgh - a soot-streaked industrial town known for its razor gangs and slums - are evacuated to the quiet Scottish Borders village of Langrigg at the outbreak of the Second World War, the contrast is stark. Langrigg, with its clipped hedges and clipped vowels, prides itself on order, cleanliness and calm. But as 800 children and their mothers arrive, tensions rise, and the village must reckon with the realities of war, class and community. In the upheaval that follows, unlikely bonds are forged, and a fractured community learns to meet hardship with resilience - and a grace it never knew it had.This reprint of Robin Jenkins's classic includes an introduction from IWM, placing the novel in its historical context and shedding light on the wartime experience of ordinary families uprooted by conflict. Jenkins's characters are not heroic, nor exceptional, but they endure. In the face of disruption and division, they find ways to come together, quietly embodying the resilience that defined a generation.

Raised as Colonel Solomon Richards’ Regiment in 1688, the 17th Regiment of Foot (later the Leicestershire Regiment) served with distinction throughout Europe and the Empire – in particular in India, where they gained the signal honour of their Green Tiger badge and ‘Hindoostan’ motto. Many battalions served through both World Wars and in Korea, until reorganisation led to their absorption into the Royal Anglian Regiment of today. This is the story of the Royal Leicestershire Regiment, ‘The Tigers’, told through artwork and historic photographs in the care of the Record Office for Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland. Although there are few records of the regiment’s first 150 years, from the 1840s onwards there is a wealth of photographic material; much of which has never before been published. The regiment and its soldiers are seen at ease and on duty, in their finest full dress and in the remnants left by active service. This is the first illustrated history of the regiment and will be a worthy tribute to one of the British Army’s most gallant regiments.

From the multicultural bustle of Leicester to the smaller market towns of Market Harborough and Lutterworth and evens smaller picturesque villages, Leicestershire is a unique and varied county with a rich cultural heritage. Leicestershire Past & Present contrasts a selection of 300 old and new photographs, juxtaposed to demonstrate the changes that have occurred in the scene over the intervening years. Fascinating images of town centres, housing, shops, and people at work and play bring Leicestershire’s history to life. It is a captivating insight into the changes and developments that have taken place over the years, and an enjoyable read from cover to cover.