After a prolonged search of the internet, I managed to track down a copy of James Barke’s ‘The Wild MacRaes’. Published in 1934, it was his second novel.
Thanks to John Burns, I have now read four of Barke’s novels.
It remains a mystery to me , however, that Barke is not more widely recognised, especially in his native land. Without my chance encounter with John Burns at Dalbeattie last summer, I too would have remained ignorant of these gems of Scottish literature. I owe John a great debt of gratitude.
Given that my McCreaths are a sept of the Clan MacRae, ‘The Wild MacRaes held an additional fascination.
The dust cover of the book summarises the plot as follows:
“The family of MacRaes are Highland crofters—father and mother and four sons. They are typical representatives of their race, proud and arrogant, looking with angry and disdainful eyes at what they regard as the spoliation of their land by the stranger from the south – the local landed proprietor. A trivial quarrel over the possession of four sheep gives the laird an excuse for exercising his petty authority over the family. The quarrel rapidly develops into a deadly feud between the MacRaes and the laird. The author skilfully uses this vendetta to crystallise the main problem of the Highlands to-day. His sympathies are naturally with the oppressed. The MacRaes are symbolic of the people, and the laird and his man of law typify the forces in power. Mr. Barke sees the Highlands as a country where the people have now no place, no significance, a land where men fit to be kings must carry the fishing-rods and the baggage of their enemies. The Gael has blossomed, withered, decayed. There is in this book an infinite sadness, tinged with a glory of that pride of race which seems to enshrine the soul of the Highlander.”
It concludes that “The Wild MacRaes is definitely a book that demands attention”.
I would wholeheartedly agree.
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