The extraordinary story of the UK's most gruelling and spectacularly beautiful islands. Tom Steel's acclaimed portrait of the St Kildan's lives is now updated in this reissued edition.

*SHORTLISTED FOR THE RNA HISTORICAL ROMANCE AWARD 2021* *LONGLISTED FOR THE HIGHLAND BOOK PRIZE 2020* 'Desperately romantic, lyrically written and with a fascinating plot' Katie Fforde Chrissie Gillies comes from the last ever community to live on the beautiful, isolated Scottish island of St Kilda. Evacuated in 1930, she will never forget her life there, nor the man she loved and lost who visited one fateful summer a few years before. Fred Lawson has been captured, beaten and imprisoned in Nazi-controlled France. Making a desperate escape across occupied territory, one thought sustains him: find Chrissie, the woman he should never have left behind on that desolate, glorious isle. The Lost Lights of St Kilda is a sweeping love story that crosses oceans and decades, and a testament to the extraordinary power of hope in the darkest of times. 'A gorgeous, melancholy love story.' The Times 'An undeniably haunting love story.' Sunday Times

Norman John Gillies was one of the last children ever born on St Kilda, five years before the whole population was evacuated forever. People had lived on these islands for over 4000 years, developing a thriving, tightly-knit society. Why and how did this ancient way of life suddenly cease in 1930?

“The definitive history” of the mysterious, remote archipelago in the North Atlantic whose last inhabitants were evacuated nearly a century ago (Scotland on Sunday). St Kilda is the most romantic—and most romanticized—group of islands in Europe. Soaring out of the North Atlantic Ocean like Atlantis come back to life, the islands have captured the imagination of the outside world for hundreds of years. Their inhabitants, Scottish Gaels who lived off the land and sea and engaged in bird-catching on high and precipitous cliffs, were long considered to be the Noble Savages of the British Isles, living in a state of natural grace. St Kilda: A People's History explores and portrays the life of the St Kildans from the Stone Age to 1930, when the remaining thirty-six islanders were evacuated to the Scottish mainland. Bestselling author Roger Hutchinson digs deep into the archives to paint a vivid picture of the life and death, work and play of a small, proud and self-sufficient people in the first modern book to chart the history of the most remote islands in Britain.

This text is based on a collection of photographs belonging to the late Lachlan MacDonald, who was born on St Kilda in 1906, left at the evacuation in 1930, and died in 1991. They include many images never before published of life on St Kilda before and after the evacuation.

Forty miles out into the Atlantic from the western isles of Scotland lies the archipelago of St Kilda. Home to human populations for more than 4000 years, the islands inhabitants were evacuated from the main island in 1930 leaving it as a haven for wildlife, a tourist destination and workplace for those studying and monitoring the islands ecology and its radar station built in the 1950s. Many of those writing about St Kilda have emphasised the remoteness and insularity of its environment, describing its population as having endured a wretched and isolated existence marooned on an archipelago miles from civilisation. In this book Andrew Fleming challenges such interpretations. His history of the islands reviews the archaeological evidence for the first inhabitants before 2000 BC, how they lived and survived, and how they became integrated into the wider world. Much of the book focuses on more recent times where documentary sources relay in great detail the lives of St Kildans over the past few centuries; how they farmed, administered justice, took on communal responsibilities, their religious, and other, beliefs, the impact of visitors to the islands, and how events outside of the islands had an impact on their lives. Described as a historical drama, this is an excellent story of a remote island community which has been mythologised by many commentators. Superb photographs do much of the work of description.

As one of the most remote corners of the British Isles, the island archipelago of St Kilda has long held a fascination for travellers from mainland Britain and beyond. The unique way of life and customs of its inhabitants has generated an enormous amount of literature over a period of hundreds of years. Kenneth Macaulay's book is one of the most significant works ever written about the islands, and is a description of what he saw there on his visit of 1763, at which time the island population had dwindled to just 88. In addition to giving vivid descriptions of the islanders themselves and their living conditions, Macaulay also offers a huge amount of information on the animals and birds found there - the sheep and cattle, and above all the wildfowl, which were used for a huge variety of purposes, including oil, shoes and medicine as well as food.

The story of a journey from Glasgow to St Kilda, using a unique photo album showing the tour that tourists would take when they went to visit the remote island group of St Kilda.

A detailed yet accessible account of Britain's most remote island. This new book explodes the myth of St Kilda as a 'lost world', demonstrating how, for 3,000 years, it has been connected to and influenced by communities across the Hebrides and Highlands of Scotland.