Merrybegotten

The novel is set against unforgiving terrain and relentless labour, following a story that weaves together both birth and death. On a scattering of islands lying northeast of the Scottish mainland, the harshness of daily life sits alongside fatalistic resignation, sudden delight and emotions that run ahead of reason. Love here is shaped by the need to make a living, by the hardship of getting from one place to another, and by chance encounters brought about by death. Across three generations of island people, a stubborn hopefulness lights up ordinary lives.

The author's own quest to trace her family, and to place them in time and in a broader setting, took her on a long personal journey. It produced a journal and sketchbook of the Northern Isles. Starting as an accomplished painter, she moved first into writing scripts and then into fiction.

Fiona Pearson lives in Yorkshire, England, with her family.