Bøger af Jim Hewitson

Set in the mid-19th century, Broomielaw is an epic novel about Scottish emigration. It introduces us to families and other characters who decide to leave their homeland in search of a better life in Australia or New Zealand. The novel is divided into three parts - the reasons for leaving, the journey by sea and ... for some, but not all ... the arrival. *****5 Star review on Goodreads "Excellent read, researched well and good storyline to go with it. *****5 Star review on Amazon Australia.."..I just couldn't put the book down as I just wanted to know what happened next. .....To think I nearly didn't purchase it but thought why not, give it a try and boy was I rewarded."

We're told that most folk in Britain no longer believe in fairies. Yet two centuries ago North of the Border the 'guid neebors' were accepted as a potent force in everyday life, as real as the sunrise and sunset. Scotland is today on the verge of a watershed moment in her history with an independence referendum scheduled for the autumn of 2014. But in the midst of this fresh excitement are much older, occult forces at work?This timely novel opens in the year 2037 in a world plagued by drought, war, vast migrations of people from the arid lands and resultant social and economic meltdown. However, abundant supplies of fresh water are giving Scotland a precious advantage in a much-changed Europe. But the threat is that New Europe may soak up our water-rich nation and steal Scotland's liberty.Obituaries Editor Kal Gilroy finds himself in receipt of a strange gift from a recently deceased former girlfriend - the manuscript of a novel looking back to the Scottish independence referendum of 2014. He sets himself the task of unpicking this mysterious work and the book's relevance to Scotland in the 2030s soon becomes apparent. The supposedly 'fictional' work left to Gilroy by Professor Jane Hill tells a very different story of that 2014 referendum from that taught in university classes or recorded in the electronic journals of the period. This is Jim Hewitson's first novel and it is a romantic fairy tale with a difference. A lively fantasy it suggests that, as Scotland prepares for next year's vote, fascinating forces are at work behind the scenes. In deepest Stirlingshire something occult stirs in response to this potentially historic moment; This is an unfamiliar Scotland where nothing is quite as it seems. The old magic lies just beneath the surface.

Following his acclaimed chronicle of the Scots in America, Jim Hewitson has now turned his attention to the second great area of Scottish migration, Australia and New Zealand. From the first penal colony in Botany Bay in 1788 to the glamorous story of Duntocher-born 1930s speedway ace Ron Johnston, Scots have played a role at every level in life and society of these two dynamic nations. Rather than setting out as a comprehensive genealogical survey, Far Off In Sunlit Places brims with colourful anecdote and remarkable family histories. Illustrated by over a hundred fascinating historic black-and-white illustrations, and enriched by Jim Hewitson's ability to trace the fortunes and misfortunes of a wonderful array of individuals, be they farm boys or prime ministers, the book offers a unique insight into the contribution made by the people of Scottish decent to the history of the Antipodes. From coastline to desert, from hill farms to the growing cities of both nations, the narrative moves with fluid ease. Far Off in Sunlit Places is popular history at its best, highly readable and carrying its scholarship lightly. It is a very fitting testimony to the resilience and ambition of Scots abroad.