Whaling Books

From the second half of the eighteenth century until 1913, Scotland was involved in the Arctic whaling industry. Whatever our 21st century perceptions of the trade, at that time, whaling provided employment for thousands of seamen, shipbuilders, retailers, rope makers, sailmakers and others. Whale oil was initially invaluable as fuel for lighting and heating, but was also used to soften wool and jute before weaving. Baleen, or whalebone, had many uses, from springs to whips, but was primarily used in the female fashion industry.

Whales for the Wizard

(Polygon 2005)

By 1860 Dundee was the most important whaling port in Britain, and I used the industry as a background to my novel, Whales for the Wizard, which won the 2005 Dundee Book Prize.

In this book, ex-soldier Robert Douglas becomes involved in a web of traechery, deceit and violence that takes him from the underworld violence of Dundee to the high Arctic and back.

This book is also available in an audio format by Oakhill Publishing, splendidly narrated by Robbie MacNab

 WHALEHUNTERS

(Mercat Press 2004)

Many books have been written about the actual industry of whaling, but few about the men and women involved. My Whalehunters  investigates the lives, character and working conditions of the Greenlandmen, the before-the-mast seamen who actually sailed the whaling ships to hunt the great whale.

Whalehunters (Mercat Press, 2004)

Taken mainly from primary sources such as journals, custom reports, letters and log books, Whalehunters received excellent reviews.