The Testament of Gideon Mack

Description

A strange but compelling manuscript, supposedly the memoir of a Church of Scotland minister who has gone missing, arrives on the desk of an Edinburgh publisher. It tells the story of Gideon Mack, a son of the manse raised in chilly austerity and dominated by a joyless father, who claims to have met the Devil. Mixing fantasy, legend and history, The Testament of Gideon Mack is an ambitious, mesmerising novel which combines superlative storytelling with immense imaginative power.

James Robertson was born in Scotland in 1958. He is the author of The Fanatic, Joseph Knight, The Testament of Gideon Mack, And the Land Lay Still, and The Professor of Truth. Joseph Knight won the Saltire Society Scottish Book of the Year and the Scottish Arts Council Book of the Year, The Testament of Gideon Mack was longlisted for the 2006 Man Booker Prize, and And the Land Lay Still won the Saltire Society Scottish Book of the Year. Robertson is also the author of four short story collections, most recently 365: Stories, five poetry collections and numerous children's books written in English and Scots. He runs the independent publishing house Kettillonia, and he is co-founder and general editor of the Scots language imprint Itchy Coo, which produces books in Scots for children and young adults. His forthcoming book, To Be Continued, will be published in August 2016 by Hamish Hamilton.

Overwhelmingly compassionate and thought-provoking ... In the hands of great writers the unlikeliest stories are generally the most rewarding -- Irvine Welsh The Guardian Robertson is a true descendant of James Hogg - this is a superb piece of Scottish Gothic The Times A rich novel of ideas about faith, Scotland and the ways in which fictions shape our lives Sunday Telegraph Artful and lyrical ... you are under the influence of a master storyteller ... this book promises to become a Scottish masterpiece Sunday Herald