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Original poster

Identify this book series from the 1970s (ish)?

16 replies

whyohwhyowhydididoit · 16/04/2019 19:17

I used to get books from the (adult) library back in the 70s when I was a teenager. There was a long series of them, all set in a village either in Scottish highlands or maybe it was an island. IIRC each book centred around a differerent family or person living on the island/highland area but characters from previous books would be on the periphery. In my head it was like the Miss Read Thrush Green/Village School series, warm and nostalgic but slightly earthier - I think maybe there was a gay character or couple which to 1970s me was racy and shocking. Little did I know how my family would grow up back then!

I am looking for a nice escapist series to read and I would love to track these down. Until then I might go for a Maeve Binchy

OP posts:
susiederkins31 · 16/04/2019 20:27

Is it the Rhanna series by Christine Marion Fraser? First one looks to have been published in 1978, so maybe a little late, but it was the first thing I thought of from your description.

Original poster
whyohwhyowhydididoit · 16/04/2019 20:57

Not on that list brizzlemint. It wasn’t as literary as those. In my memory it was more of a soapy saga. The Joan Lingard one looks good though and I’ve put it on my wish list.

susie. My heart leapt when I saw your suggestion as the surname `Fraser rang a bell, but that’s not right on. I have downloaded either. It was more of an ensemble series rather than focused on one heroine. And there were a lot of them available at public libraries in the mid /late 70s so Rhanna would have been a bit later. I have downloaded CMFs first autobiography though so thanks for suggesting her. That will keep me going for tonight.

OP posts:
daisypond · 16/04/2019 21:01

Lilian Beckwith - The Hills Is Lonely. And the follow ups. Slightly comic?

Original poster
whyohwhyowhydididoit · 16/04/2019 21:16

Not LB. either. 😢

OP posts:
orangetriangle · 19/04/2019 21:33

rhanna series was first thing I thought of loved these set on a Scottish island i think

InfiniteCurve · 03/05/2019 20:36

Jane Duncan's books? Either the "My friends" series or the Reachfar books?
I think the Reachfar books were written as Janet Duncan,and they aren't all set in Scotland - her husband was an engineer and they lived abroad for some of their life,but lots of them are.
And I don't remember a gay couple but it wouldn't surprise me!

jackparlabane · 03/05/2019 20:40

Possibly 'The Hills is lonely' and sequels by Lilian Beckwith?

jackparlabane · 03/05/2019 20:40

'I got the impression that they could imagine only two reasons why a woman should choose to settle down in Bruach: either that she was running away from the police, or escaping from a lurid past.'

Neither reason applies to Lillian Beckwith, in these classic stories based on her convalescence on an isolated Hebridean island where 'even the sheeps on the hills is lonely'. On the island of Bruach she observes, muses at and joins the native crofters in their unique rhythm of life; where friends fistfight in the evening and discuss bruises the next morning; where the taxi driver is also the lorry driver, coal merchant and undertaker; where the locals don't remove their hats during a funeral so their heads won't get cold; and where the post office's 'opening hours' fit around the daily milking of cows and not the other way round.

In a series of vividly drawn sketches, taking in birth, death, marriage and the seasons of life, Lillian Beckwith's writing is shot through with warm, cosy affection and droll wit.

Original poster
whyohwhyowhydididoit · 04/05/2019 14:11

InfiniteCurve I think you’ve got it!! I looked at a synopsis online and a character called Twice definitely rings a bell. And they are all available on Kindle!

Thank you everyone for your suggestions. I am off on a long holiday soon and you’ve given me lots of suggestions for holiday reading.

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InfiniteCurve · 04/05/2019 20:35

Twice Alexander! I'd forgotten that!
I quite fancy a reread now Smile

Original poster
whyohwhyowhydididoit · 19/05/2019 15:05

I’ve been steadily rereading these over the last two weeks. I’m enjoying them despite them being a bit odd and incredibly dated. By today’s values some of her comments and attitudes about ‘negroes’ sex and disability ( to name just a few issues) are jaw droppingly shocking. It’s a much needed reminder of how far society has come in just a few years.

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InfiniteCurve · 20/05/2019 16:42

I must reread,you said they were on Kindle?
And I'm not surprised they are dated - but she also wrote a series of children's books ,(the Camerons ) .One of the four children had Downs.I don't think I realised it reading as a child because he was just another character,but rereading as a teenager I twigged.That was very unusual for the time.
Unless of course I have misremembered and misinterpreted the whole thing,it was a while ago!

Clawdy · 21/05/2019 23:01

Our book group read The Hills Is Lonely, and most of us found Lilian Beckwith's depiction of the islanders patronising and unpleasant - most of them were portrayed as figures of fun. Apparently she had to leave eventually, because the islanders were so angry at the way she wrote about them.

Deathraystare · 31/05/2019 07:15

Lilian Beckwith - The Hills Is Lonely. And the follow ups. Slightly comic?

Loved that!

Deathraystare · 31/05/2019 07:17

Oops! Just seen Clawdy's post.

I didn't take it that way and thought it was rather affectionate but I am only a quarter Scottish so what do I know!

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