Saltire Society's 'History Book of the Year' claimed by Badenoch author
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Celebrated Badenoch historian David Taylor is celebrating – the Saltire Society has presented him with its coveted History Book of the Year Award.
“It’s absolutely stunning,” he told the Strathy. “This came out of nowhere and it is huge.
"We were asked down to Glasgow and couldn’t believe it when the envelope was opened, in true Oscars style.
"It’s the biggest accolade I have ever received, in fact it couldn’t come any bigger.”
‘The People are not There: The Transformation of Badenoch 1800 – 1863’ (321pp, Birlinn) was selected from a shortlist of the country’s finest historical specialists.
“This study takes the reader through a beautifully written exploration of the region of Badenoch in the 19th century,” the judges confirmed. “A readable and important account of how the local translates into the global.”
Praise indeed from a society which exists to support all that is best in Scottish cultural life. The Saltire Literary Awards, more widely known as Scotland’s National Book Awards, recognise work across the nation’s literary and publishing community.
The latest awards saw a dozen new works on the year’s shortlist, which celebrated writing, publishing, design and academia.
As the Strathy previewed in July last year, Taylor, a much respected former Kingussie High School teacher – who six years before had given his readers a gripping account of ‘The Wild Black Region’ – had in his latest work profiled the transformation of Badenoch.
Taylor examined climate and market forces, hunger relief measures, agricultural reform, proprietorial greed, social reconstruction and the evolution of clanship.
His intensely localised study was enveloped by wider events within the state and its empire.
