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At his death in 1930 he was commonly referred to as the heir to Scott and Stevenson, but by the 1980s the novels which built that reputation were out of print and one incomplete edition of his Para Handy stories was all that remained available. Lacking a comprehensive anthology, readers have been unable to judge his work as a whole and have missed much of real delight and merit. That Vital Spark meets this need and presents a rich and varied selection of some of the best of Munro's light fiction, literary short stories, journalism, criticism, descriptive writing and poetry. Also included are two very early short stories in the thriller genre and the opening chapters of his unfinished last novel, The Search. His work as novelist, poet, journalist and critic can for the first time be properly assessed.   More than seventy per cent of the material in this collection is not otherwise available and over half of that seventy per cent has never been presented in book form at any time. This anthology appears at a time of growing academic and public interest in Munro's work. The editors have drawn on a wide variety of sources and provide full introductions to the texts and where necessary explanatory notes. 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As the cradle of Christianity in Scotland, Iona has been a place of pilgrimage for almost 1,500 years and was a beacon of intellectual light during the Dark Ages, when magnificent works such as the Book of Kells were crafted by the monks of the abbey founded by St Columba.This book provides a full and engaging history of the islands from the time of their earliest human inhabitants to the present day. The gazetteer lists all the places of interest from all periods in the islands' history, from the world-wide renowned churches, crosses and grave slabs on Iona and the magnificent restored Duart Castle on Mull, seat of the clan Maclean, to the planned village of Dervaig, the townships in the Ross of Mull and Ardmeanach which were cleared during the nineteenth century and the mausoleum of Lachlan MacQuarrie, the much esteemed 18th-century Governor of New South Wales.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49520201957649,"sku":"GOR010597951","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49738815504657,"sku":"NGR9781780275253","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50390411411729,"sku":"CIN1780275250G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50390416392465,"sku":"CIN1780275250VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51539151880465,"sku":"GOR010948922","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52973903806737,"sku":"GOR012689148","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1780275250.jpg?v=1751121645"},{"product_id":"orkney-a-historical-guide-book-caroline-wickham-jones-9781874744719","title":"Orkney: A Historical Guide","description":"Orkney lies only 20 miles north of mainland Scotland, yet for many centuries its culture was more Scandanavian than Scottish. Strong westerly winds account for the scarcity of trees on Orkney and also for the tradition of well-constructed stone structures.    As a result, the islands boast a large number of exceptionally well-preserved remains, which help us to form a detailed picture of Orcadian life through the ages. Sites and remains to be explored include settlements from the Stone Age, stone circles and burials from the Bronze Age, Iron Age brochs, Viking castles, the magnificent cathedral of St Magnus in Kirkwall, Renaissance palaces, a Martello tower from the Napoleonic Wars and numerous remains from the Second World War.    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