Speakin O Dundee

This beautifully written collection of stories by Stuart McHardy is entirely written in Scots as spoken in Dundee. Short and easy to read, their style is loyal to the traditional way of storytelling. Retelling the folklore and local legends of Dundee alongside anecdotes about local people and history, McHardy tells tales of dragons slain, dockyard heroes, encounters with ghosts and, of course, William Wallace.

Dundee has a rich history of legends and folktales passed down through the ages, which the author seamlessly pairs with stories of the modern Dundee of the last 200 years - tales of industry, myth and times gone by are retold through his wonderfully dry sense of humour. McHardy explains how he has collected his stories along the way, many of them picked up in pubs in Dundee where friends meet to share warm anecdotes around a fresh pint. Each one of these stories introduces briefly how they relate to Dundee; for instance A Snail Tale comes from the middle age fear of the plague; The Black Band brings back memories of Dundee’s nineteenth century reputation of a lawless town and The Resurrection Man proudly introduces the Dundee version of Burke and Hare.

With this book, Stuart McHardy achieves what he deeply believes in: sharing, sharing, sharing, since the magic of storytelling comes from these misty waters between facts and myths that need to flow not to stagnate.