Books published by Luath Press Ltd

Julie Davidson's wickedly observed Scots profiles are complemented by Bob Dewar's witty drawings in this roguish gallery of "Scots We Ken".

Considering the history of these organisations, their members and influence in their respective locations, they note the changing nature of Scottish culture as it flourishes amongst international diversity.

First published in 1896, this book is considered a milestone in golfing history - the first book on the game by a professional - and the most reliable and thorough instruction book for golfers ever printed.

Winner of the 2007 Costa award This title continues the story of Gussie, a precocious young girl diagnosed with a rare heart condition. Despite her health problems, she is determined to live life to the fullest, experiencing typical adolescent woes such as love and strained relations with her parents. Never complaining, she offers a direct and honest insight about herself and the world around her, bringing this poignant, charming and oddly optimistic tale to life. REVIEWS 'Brilliant' THE MAIL ON SUNDAY 'I'm pleased to be able to announce that Gussie has lived to see another day with Kelley capturing so beautifully Gussie's optimism and hope.' SUE BAKER'S PERSONAL CHOICE, PUBLISHING NEWS 'The world of life and death, beauty and truth seen through the eyes of a 12 year old girl. A rare and beautiful book of lasting quality - we felt this is a voice that needs to be heard and read.' COSTA AWARD JUDGES 'It's a lovely book - lyrical, funny, full of wisdom. Gussie is such a dear - such a delight and a wonderful character, bright and sharp and strong, never to be pitied for an instant.' HELEN DUNMORE, author of 'Ingo' BACK COVER Gussie is twelve years old, loves animals and wants to be a photographer when she grows up. The only problem is that she's unlikely to ever grown up. 'I had open heart surgery last year, when I was eleven, and the healing process hasn't finished yet. I now have an amazing scar that cuts me in half almost, as if I have survived a shark attack'. Gussie needs a heart and lung transplant, but the donor list is as long as her arm and she can't wait around that long. Gussie has things to do; finding her ancestors, coping with her parents' divorce and keeping an eye out for the wildlife in her garden.

From bold heroines to clan battles, standing stones to castles, there is hardly any aspect of Scotland's heritage that does not feature in our storytelling traditions. This collection of stories from all parts of Scotland, and from all periods of our dramatic - and often truly heroic - history is both an introduction to and a journey into Scotland's rich cultural heritage. Covering the same themes as Disney-Pixar's new fairytale film, Brave, this book provides the next step for those wishing to delve deeper into Scotland's culture and traditions. BACK COVER: There is not a stream or a rock that does not have its story. STUART McHARDY With the release of Disney-Pixar's 'Brave' the world's attention is being drawn to Scotland and its fascinating history. But 'Brave' merely scrapes the surface of Scotland's rich story-telling culture. This collection of tales is the next step for anyone wishing to look further into the traditions of Scotland. These enchanting tales reflect the wide diversity of its heritage and there are few aspects of Scottish tradition that have escaped memorialisation in folklore. With its captivating, and often gruesome, tales of heroic warriors in battle, bold heroines, deceitful aristocracy, and supernatural creatures Brave Land is a journey into the cultural heritage of a nation and the folklore surrounding the creation of the breath-taking landscape of its country. Scotland the Brave Land provides the reader the perfect opportunity to delve a little deeper into the myths, legends and history of this truly mesmerising country.

Excitement builds as The Sheiling opens for its very last season. All's set for a great time with nothing to mar the horizon, despite Connie's retirement, Himself believing he's fully in charge, and Joan aching for the day she has nothing better to do than twiddle her thumbs in front of a blazing fire with a good book and contented cats. It doesn't turn out that way. BT sabotages the business. Connie is missed beyond measure and Himself has ideas well beyond his station while the cats do their utmost to destroy harmony by taking exception to certain guests. More laugh-out-loud tales from the pen of Joan Campbell, mixed with some sound advice about running, or staying in, a successful B&B. REVIEW: A great anecdotal collection of stories that peek behind the smiling facade of the woman running the best B&B in the North. LESLEY RIDDOCH on Heads on Pillows BACK COVER: Excitement builds as The Sheiling opens for its very last season... ... all's set for a great time with nothing to blot the horizon, despite Connie's retirement, Himself believing he's fully in charge, and Joan aching for the day she has nothing better to do than twiddle her thumbs in front of a blazing fire with a good book and contented cats. It doesn't turn out that way. BT sabotages the business. Connie is missed beyond measure and Himself has ideas well beyond his station while the cats do their utmost to destroy the harmony by taking exception to certain guests, and enforcing their belief that children, expecially the grandchildren, should not be allowed over The Sheiling doorstep. More laugh-out-loud tales from the pen of Joan Campbell mixed with some good advice for running, or staying at, a successful B& B.

Welcome to Dillon's world; He takes you from the darkness of the illustrated Man and Jif Lemons to the laugh out loud Bunch of c***s. If you're an alchoholic, recovering alcoholic, insane, a policeman, prisoner, gold digger, farmer, animal lover, Scots or Irish Scots you may well recognise yourself somewhere in this book.

A black comedy of religious sexuality and pagan murder, which inhabits the same territory as The Wicker Man. If I am a Rabbi, Jehova is my God. If I am a Mullah, Allah the merciful is He. If a Christian, Jesus is my Lord. Millions of people worldwide worship the sun. Here in Tressock I believe the old religion of the Celts fits our needs at this time. Isn't that all you can ask of a religion? Gospel singer Beth and her cowboy boyfriend Steve, two virgins promised to each other through 'the Silver Ring Thing', set off from Texas to enlighten the Scottish heathens in the ways of Christ. When, after initial hostility, they are welcomed with joy and elation to the village of Tressock, they assume their hosts simply want to hear more about Jesus. How innocent and wrong they are. REVIEWS: 'Erotic, romantic, comic and horrific enough to loosen the bowels of a bronze statue.' --Christopher Lee 'Robin Hardy looks set to snare a new generation of followers with the long overdue follow-up... another tale of faith, sex and sacrifice.' --Sunday Herald'... the writing style is typical of the genre and Hardy has upped the stakes. After a slow set-up, the plot romps along, with unexpected twists and turns, to its inevitable and frustratingly avoidable conclusion. Those who identify with the youthful protagonists will find it thrilling and horrible, a story to disturb sleep.' --Scottish Review of Books 'Let's face it, there are strange communities in the world.' Purity rings in hand, a young evangelical Christian singer and her devoted fiance leave the comfort of their Texas home to journey into heathen parts of the earth, hoping to spread the word of God across the land. Their mission takes them to a bizarre Scottish town whose people and practices turn their world inside out. To call it a culture clash would be too gentle. To reveal anything further would be a blight against the heavens. 38 years after directing THE WICKER MAN (and following a 22-year filmmaking sabbatical), celebrated iconoclast Robin Hardy has reunited with producer Peter Snell and returned to the Pagan pantheon with this hugely eccentric successor film, THE WICKER TREE. The distinction is an important one to make, as this is neither sequel nor re-imagining, but rather a film narrative cut from the same universe (or as its maker refers to it, 'a spiritual sequel'). Hardy is a one-of-a-kind filmmaker, and THE WICKER TREE is brimming with the stamp of his personality. It has ample Scottish colour, reaching out through tons of catchy folk songs interspersed throughout the film. Clever plays on religious iconography and an acute understanding of Pagan ritualism. Ethereal locations. A charged sense of the sexual. A dreamlike sense of the magical. Costumes, dances and animal masks. An off-centre look at the absurdities of faith (in this case, neither Christian nor Pagan get off easy), THE WICKER TREE could be called a black theological satire, a strange breed of irony-fuelled comedy-musical-horror-thriller-drama. Call it however you like, it will bring a smile to your lips and, perhaps, a torch to your belief system. Based on Hardy's novel [...] and featuring appearances by Christopher Lee, members of the Beltane Fire Society and a compellingly show-stopping Graham McTavish, this is a film that's been brewing for many years, one that has proved exceedingly difficult to mount. Now, finally, it is here. Prepare to ride the laddie and join us in celebrating the second coming of one of cinema s great seers. May Day is upon us. THE WICKER TREE is about to burn' --Mitch Davis, Director of Fantasia Film Festival, on the motion picture The Wicker Tree

A collection of the popular and the more obscure chosen from the treasure trove of poetry in Scots and put together by well-known storyteller Stuart McHardy.

The animal form of the disease severely limits livestock production and farming, and in people the toxic effects of the treatment for the brain disease can be as painful and dangerous as the disease itself.

With obvious affection, Wallace Lockhart connects the rich history of Linlithgow with the warmth and vitality that presently illuminates it.

Selim Aga was eight years old when he was abducted from the Nuba Mountains of Sudan and sold into slavery and auctioned 2000 miles away in Egypt to the highest bidder. James McCarthy has pieced together the life of this remarkable man using Selim's own narrative and those of others such as Sir Richard Burton.

Contains information about what every modern bride needs to know for her Scottish wedding. From engagement to honeymoon, the author comes up with practical information, unique ideas and count down lists. She urges the reader to leave nothing to chance - always a have contingency - so that by the big day the Bride knows she has done everything.

Jules Verne is the author of many classic, world-famous novels such as "e;Around the World in 80 Days"e; and "e;Journey to the Centre of the Earth"e;. In this brand-new translation of "e;The Blockade Runners"e;, Verne moves seamlessly between Scotland and the southern states of the US during the American Civil War. With the southern harbours effectively sealed by the North, Scottish industrialist James Playfair must run a daring Federalist blockade of a Charleston harbour in an effort to trade supplies for cotton and to rescue a young girl's father, held prisoner by the Confederates. As the blockade grows tighter, will Playfair risk all to save the man, or will he head back to Scotland in safety with his hold full of precious cotton? "e;The Blockade Runners"e; is a translation of "e;Les Forceurs de Blocus"e; (1871). As a novella, it was originally included along with "e;A Floating City"e; in the first English and French editions. BACK COVER Blockade runners in the American Civil War risked the Unionist blockade to trade in the Confederate ports. The potential profit for those who evaded the blockade was a great temptation for some merchants, regardless of their political views. In The Blockade Runners, a Scottish merchant James Playfair hatches a scheme to sail across the Atlantic during the American Civil War sea blockade smuggling weapons to the Confederates in exchange for cotton. His mission is put at risk when Jenny, the daughter of an abolitionist, is discovered on board. Will he risk everything to save her father, a prisoner of the Confederates? Torn between his desire for a successful mission and his growing love for Jenny, James must choose his allegiances carefully.

Written in the beautiful Scots of the Shetland Islands these are poems with a sense of place, sympathy, commitment to language and the urge to celebrate life itself.

It was after I ate King that everything started to go wrong in our entire family, as if someone had put an evil spell onto us, a hex - like a bad fairy godmother had said at my birth, when you are eleven you are going to be struck by a sorrow so big it will be like a lightning bolt. There will be grief like a sharp rock in your throat. Twelve-year-old Gussie was born with a rare, life-threatening heart disease, but it hasn't hampered her curiosity. When she reads about the Burying Beetle, which has the unusual habit of burying dead birds, mice, and other small animals by digging away the earth beneath them, it becomes her mission to find one. As she searches the Cornish coast for the elusive insect, Gussie learns to be like the Burying Beetle, to bury things past and to live. BACK COVER Meet Gussie. Twelve yhears old and settling into her new ramshackle home on a cliff top above St Ives, she has an irrepressible zest for life. She also has a life-threatening heart condition. But it's not in her nature to give up. Perhaps because she knows her time might be short, she values every passing moment, experiencing each day with humour and extraordinary courage. Spirited and imaginative, Gussie has a passionate interest in everything around her and her vivid stream of thoughts and observations will draw you into a renewed sense of wonder. Gussie's story of inspiration and hope is both heartwarming and heartrending. Once you've met her, you'll not forget her. And you'll never take life for granted again.

Jules Verne is the writer of many classic, world famous novels such as Around the World in 80 Days (currently showing at the cinema) and Journey to the Centre of the Earth.

This work depicts the nine year quest of an American couple (an agricultural advisor and a writer/webmaster) living on a farm in Michigan, USA, to own and live in a remote Scottish lighthouse keepers home.

Much borrowed and rarely returned, this is a very popular book for reading aloud in very good company, preferably after a dram or twa!

Like Charles Rennie Mackintosh John Cairney began his career at the age of 15 at the Glasgow School of Art. He tells of the working life of Charles Rennie Mackintosh as well as the beautiful love story which tragically ended with Mackintosh's sudden death at the age of 60. His wife and co-artist, Margaret Macdonald died three years later.

A Bengali poet living in Scotland, Bashabi Fraser creatively spans the different worlds she inhabits, celebrating the contrasts of the two countries whilst also finding commonality. The poems focus on clear themes and issues - displacement, removal, belonging, identity and war.

A bus driver by day, Mr Finch is a widely-read poet with a many influences apparent in this collection of his work. Born in the lowlands of Scotland of Irish/English parentage, he is influenced by the greats: Brain Boru, Chaucer, and MacDiarmind.

The last survivor of those who were born and raised on the isle of Rhum before World War I presents a social history and personal anecdote of a way of life gone not long ago but already almost forgotten.

A collection of Homeric poems, epics and tragedies from two and a half millennia of literature. Each poem is introduced with a commentary.