The Perfect Mother's Day Gift 🌸 Tertulia Gift Cards

Tertulia Logo
Sign upLog In
Cart Icon0
Cart Icon0
The co-op bookstore for avid readers
Book Cover for: Islands of the Evening: Journeys to the Edge of the World, Alistair Moffat

Islands of the Evening: Journeys to the Edge of the World

Alistair Moffat

Paperback
Regular price$15.95With free membership trial$7.9750% off your first book+ Free shipping
Currently out of stock. Place a backorder.

Do you recommend this book?

Yes!

No

"Moffat has a gift for putting readers at ease and bringing history alive... part social history, part travelogue, part religious hymnal, this is a charming book." -- Scottish Field

[an] exploration of Scotland's past through the eyes of a scholarly hiker ... Magnificent' - New Statesman, Books of the Year

Fourteen centuries ago, Irish saints journeyed to the Hebrides and Scotland's Atlantic shore. They sought spiritual solitude in remote places, but their mission was also to spread the word of God to the peoples of Scotland. Columba was the most famous of these pioneers who rowed their curraghs towards danger and uncertainty in a pagan land, but the many others are now largely forgotten.

Alistair Moffat sets off in search of these elusive figures. As he follows in their footsteps, he finds their traces not so much in tangible remains as in the spirit and memory of the places that lay at the very edge of their world.

Book Details

  • Publisher: Birlinn
  • Publish Date: Dec 6th, 2022
  • Pages: 320
  • Language: English
  • Edition: undefined - undefined
  • Dimensions: 7.70in - 5.10in - 1.10in - 0.61lb
  • EAN: 9781780278018
  • Categories: • Europe - Great Britain - Scotland• Christianity - History• Europe - Ireland

About the Author

Moffat, Alistair: - Alistair Moffat was born and bred in the Scottish Borders. A former Director of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Director of Programmes at Scottish Television, he now runs the burgeoning Borders Book Festival as well as a production company based near Selkirk. He has written twelve books, including Kelsae, The Reivers, The Sea Kingdoms, The Borders and The Wall, all of which are published by Birlinn.

More books by Alistair Moffat

Book Cover for: Scotland: A History from Earliest Times, Alistair Moffat
Book Cover for: The Highland Clans, Alistair Moffat
Book Cover for: Edinburgh: A New History, Alistair Moffat
Book Cover for: Before Scotland: A Prehistory, Alistair Moffat
Book Cover for: Between Britain: Walking the History of England and Scotland, Alistair Moffat
Book Cover for: Italy's Paradise: A History of Tuscany, Alistair Moffat
Book Cover for: The Highlands and Islands of Scotland: A New History, Alistair Moffat
Book Cover for: War Paths: Walking in the Shadows of the Clans, Alistair Moffat
Book Cover for: To the Island of Tides: A Journey to Lindisfarne, Alistair Moffat
Book Cover for: Scotland's Forgotten Past: A History of the Mislaid, Misplaced and Misunderstood, Alistair Moffat
Book Cover for: The Secret History of Here: A Year in the Valley, Alistair Moffat
Book Cover for: Managing Gigabytes: Compressing and Indexing Documents and Images, Second Edition, Ian H. Witten
Book Cover for: The Great Tapestry of Scotland, Alistair Moffat
Book Cover for: The Great Tapestry of Scotland: The Making of a Masterpiece, Susan Mansfield
Book Cover for: The Borders: A History of the Borders from Earliest Times, Alistair Moffat
Book Cover for: The Hidden Ways: Scotland's Forgotten Roads, Alistair Moffat

What people are saying

Praise for this book

"An exploration of Scotland's past through the eyes of a scholarly hiker... magnificent."-- "New Statesman"
"Delightful... Moffat's writing is at its most fascinating when he writes about his own experience."-- "Church Times"
"See Scotland's shores in a new light on Alistair's journey."-- "Scots Magazine"
"A lively and sometimes humorous account for a popular audience and whilst meticulously researched, he captures the spirit of beauty of the 'thin place' between heaven and earth."--Lynne McNeil "Life and Work"
"Moffat writes sensitively and informatively about early monasticism... His book is also full of fascinating asides on more recent spiritual and religious currents and controversies in these regions, and makes for a satisfying and compelling travelogue."--Ian Bradley "Church Times"
"Moffat has a gift for putting readers at ease and bringing history alive... part social history, part travelogue, part religious hymnal, this is a charming book."--Megan Amato "Scottish Field"
"Moffat uncovers the monastic communities, linked by piety and seacraft, that once girded the Atlantic like so many prayer beads. A compulsive read."-- "The Tablet"
[an] exploration of Scotland's past through the eyes of a scholarly hiker. His focus in this magnificent book is the lives of the early Irish saints who came to Scotland to rescue the country from darkness. It was a brave thing to do - Scotland was a wild and frightening place then'-- "New Statesman, Books of the Year"
This delightful book is part history, part pilgrimage... Moffat's writing is at its most fascinating when he writes about his experience - and none more than his night in the open on the holy island of Iona'-- "The Church Times"
Full of insight and passion, Moffat opens discussion surrounding popular Christian cultural figures and sheds light on the influence of the Irish Saints who have undoubtedly contributed to the culture and language of Scotland in powerful way. This book goes beyond educational - it is both emotional and uplifting as we follow the author on his own journey, providing his reader with the perfect form of escapism'-- "Dundee Courier, Scottish Book of the Week"
Part-travelogue, part pilgrimage, In Search of Angels succeeds as a compelling, finely detailed overview of just how many Irish monks settled I the north west of Scotland in the sixth and seventh centuries. The marks of these men are still with us, if you know where to look'--Michael Russell "West Highland Free Press"
Moffat is on the track of the Irish monk-missionaries...he wants us to follow him with attention to atmosphere, weather, wonderful scenery and the difficulties of reaching his evocative destinations...The writing is vivid...[His own] search is not unrelated to that of the sixth-century Irish monks'-- "Times Literary Supplement"
Alistair Moffat is one of Scotland's finest and most readable writers. His is a magnificent book about Scotland in dark times. It is hauntingly lovely, with a message of light that we sorely need today'--Alexander McCall Smith "Sunday Post"
[Alistair Moffat] doesn't stick to the libraries for his research. Instead, he travels to the islands and wildplaces around the coasts of Scotland ... recreating a vanished world' FIVE STARS-- "Sorted Magazine"

What people are saying

See more