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Posts Tagged with Fir for Luck

Fir for Luck Blog Tour: A conversation with Barbara Henderson on nature and outdoors in the Scottish Highlands

Posted on September 20, 2016January 16, 2017 by melissacreate

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What role does nature play in the story?

Nature is such a big player in my children’s novel Fir for Luck that I even argued it should be on the cover of the book! The land is part of Janet’s identity. It was a challenge, when writing Fir for Luck, to get across how tightly wound up Janet’s and her village’s identities are with the land.

But maybe the land didn’t need to be on the cover after all. Maybe the connection could be shown more subtly than that.*(1) I thought about all the ways that Janet’s environment featured in her everyday life. In the jobs she had to do: checking on the fields, grinding grain to flour, taking cows up the hill to better pasture, mucking out the byre. In her home: hearing mice rustle in the thatch above as she sleeps on a straw mattress beside the hearth. Being made to drink nettle brew when ill (one of my more fun research facts). And finally, the title sprig of fir as a symbol for luck, wound into a new hearth chain. The area around Durness where all this took place is barren and almost tree-less. A sprig of fir was not easy to come by. Again, it felt that nature itself played a part in Janet’s fate: the sprig is a motif which features throughout the book.

Spending family time in the Scottish Highlands…

I am a would-be-outdoorsy person. My husband and I are not one of nature’s innate sporty couples, but we do take our children*(2) on holidays to Skye, to Harris, to the wildernesses of Western Ross and Sutherland. There, our young people can enjoy searching for crabs under rocks, exploring empty beaches, building driftwood beach dens – and being dragged up a few too many hills! The stuff our children’s childhood memories are going to be made of: bonfire kindling, a blackened frying pan and the thinnest sausages you can buy (so that they cook before they char) – that is an essential part of kit for a fab day out. Of course it was on one of those ‘back to nature’ holidays that I came across the ruins of Ceannabeinne, a little known clearance village.

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Is Ceannabeinne a real place?

Ceannabeinne really existed as a thriving township. All that is left now is rubble and ruins of course, but the burn still trickles through. It’s just east of Durness, the nearest village to Cape Wrath, the most northwesterly point of the UK mainland. Durness is a village now, but at the time it was made up of townships such as Durine, Sangomore, Balnakeil and of course Ceannabeinne. No place in the whole story is invented, and the key events all really took place there.

And a final word…   I know; not every reader of Fir for Luck will visit the amazing place where my character made her home, although they should if they can.So instead, let any outdoor bonfire take you to the ceilidh in chapter three. Listen to the sound and scent of the sea and hear and sense Ceannabeinne. Let every dark night take you there. That way, you can peek into Janet’s world.

Find out more on the authors website                      You can buy Fire for Luck here. 

*(1) There are hints of nature on the cover of the book with the fire in Janet’s eyes and the pine cones on the back. Publishers Cranachan decided against landscape in the end, and Barbara agrees as: “Young readers are most likely to care about the central character, and about the worst thing that can happen”.

•(2) Barbara has 3 children, who are now 11, 14, and 16 and they are in some of the pictures.

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Fir for Luck by Barbara Henderson

Posted on September 20, 2016May 12, 2017 by melissacreate

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On holiday in Scotland, last summer I enjoyed finding out about the Scottish clearances, which sparked my curiosity in this period of history. So I jumped at the chance to review a copy of Fir for Luck. The historical context and the face on the front cover, a girl with a fire in her eye, looked like a winning combination, and it is!

Fir for Luck tells, through the eyes of a 12 year old, called Janet, a Scottish hamlet’s struggle to survive at time of upheaval in Scottish history. You find yourself rooting for Janet and wanting her to save her village. There are surprises and last minute twists. It is a cracking read, at times it is ‘brutal’, but there is gentleness too. I left with a real sense having been on a journey through both the landscape and a period of history.

I love that you get a sense of the wild landscape from: remote sparse heathlands to windswept coastal shores. You also get a sense of a community closely connected to the landscape. This is cleverly portrayed through descriptions, which refer to the shape of the land, passing light and the seasons. For example:

“The surf pounds the rocks down at the Cove, and the limited light from the tiny windows takes on a golden tint.” p4

“Ceannabeinne is bathed in a lovely autumn glow that simply doesn’t allow misery” p67

Read my guest post to find out more about the central importance of the landscape to the story and Barbara Henderson’s love of the Highlands.

In chapter five a gentleman of the law arrives at Janet’s hamlet with the intention of serving a ‘Writ’. If it is served Janet, her family and her community will be forced from their homes. Here the story really gets going. Janet (as we are discovering) is a girl who is not afraid to speak out or stand up for what she believes in. What can she do to protect her village? Added depth is given through flashbacks to 1814, when Janet’s grandma was brutally forced off the land. This helps the reader to understand what Janet and others might be feeling when they face a threat to their homes, 30 years later. However, it does make it a little more difficult to read. The flashbacks could be used creatively in a classroom context and would be great to read aloud.

The first four chapters beautifully introduce the setting, but it isn’t until chapter 5 that things start to fall into place, and the tension builds.  This may make it harder for some younger or less confident children to get into the story. However, there are several solutions to this possible problem. The first is as a parent or educator is to read the story to yourself first. You will then get a sense of the history and your enthusiasm for the story will show. Secondly, there is much potential to explore this story in a classroom, and for role play. The publishers Cranachan have produced a free education pack which will be available to download free on their website. There is a handy Glossary (p194) of the traditional Scottish words used in the story.

The name title: Fir for Luck, features in the story. It was a traditional Scottish practice to put a fir in the hearth chain above the fire for good luck. It is a beautiful and touching addition, which is also used very effectively towards the end. For any child or adult curious about the Scottish clearances and/or love of the Scottish highlands this would make a great read.

Fir for Luck is available to buy from the 21st September.

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