The Great Highland Famine

Winner of the 1991 Saltire Prize and Glasgow Herald Book of the Year

'A work of seminal importance – a major step forward in Highland historiography' Northern Scotland

'Total, sensitive and scholarly with something to say to anthropologists, sociologists and humanists as well as historians' Choice USA

'Represents not only a fresh approach to Scottish history but one of great significance for students of social and demographic history in other countries as well' Journal of British Studies

The Great Hunger in nineteenth-century Ireland was a major human tragedy of modern times. Almost a million perished and a further two million emigrated in the wake of potato blight and economic collapse. Acute famine also gripped the Scottish Highlands at the same time, causing misery, hardship and distress. The story of that lesser known human disaster is told in this prize-winning and internationally acclaimed book.

The author describes the classic themes of highland and Scottish history, including the clearances, landlordism, crofting life, emigration and migration in a subtle and intricate reconstruction based on a wide range of sources. This book should appeal to all those with an interest in Scottish history, the emigration of Scottish people and the Highland Clearances.