Ian Niall (7 November 1916 – 24 June 2002), born John Kincaid McNeillie, was a writer from
Galloway
Galloway ( ; sco, Gallowa; la, Gallovidia) is a region in southwestern Scotland comprising the historic counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire. It is administered as part of the council area of Dumfries and Galloway.
A native or i ...
, Scotland. He wrote works under both these names. He was born in
Old Kilpatrick
Old Kilpatrick ( sco, Auld Kilpaitrick, gd, Cille Phàdraig meaning "Patrick's church"), is a village in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. It has an estimated population of 4,820. It belonged to the parish of Old Kilpatrick which itself was only a f ...
, to parents from
the Machars in South West Scotland. He moved back to Galloway at 18 months old, and the area formed a basis for his early fiction. In the 1940s he moved to North Wales, where his son, the writer
Andrew McNeillie, was born. He died in
Chesham
Chesham (, , or ) is a market town and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, south-east of the county town of Aylesbury, north-west of central London, and part of the London commuter belt. It is in the Chess Valley, surrounded by farmla ...
,
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...
, in south-east England.
Films
The 1951 film ''
No Resting Place
''No Resting Place'' was a 1951 British motion picture directed by Paul Rotha, produced by Colin Lesslie Productions, and starring Michael Gough, based on Ian Niall's 1948 novel. It is noteworthy for its early use of location shooting and for brin ...
'', based on Ian Niall's novel, was directed by
Paul Rotha
Paul Rotha (3 June 1907 – 7 March 1984) was a British documentary film-maker, film historian and critic.
Early life and education
He was born Paul Thompson in London, and educated at Highgate School and at the Slade School of Fine Art.
Career ...
and produced by Colin Lesslie Productions. It starred
Michael Gough
Francis Michael Gough ( ; 23 November 1916 – 17 March 2011) was a British character actor who made more than 150 film and television appearances. He is known for his roles in the Hammer Horror Films from 1958, with his first role as Sir Arthu ...
.
The 1964 film ''
A Tiger Walks
''A Tiger Walks'' is a 1964 American drama film directed by Norman Tokar and starring Brian Keith and Vera Miles. Based on the 1960 novel of the same name by Ian Niall, it was produced by Walt Disney Productions. It was Indian actor Sabu's last ...
'', directed by Norman Tokar and starring Vera Miles and Brian Keith, is also based on Niall's works.
Bibliography
*''Wigtown Ploughman: Part of His Life'' (1939,
Putnam, as John McNeillie; 2012, Birlinn Limited )
[Reprint contains further bibliographical material.]
*''Glasgow Keelie'' (1940, Putnam, as John McNeillie)
*''Morryharn Farm'' (1941, Putnam, as John McNeillie)
*''No Resting Place'' (1948, Heinemann). The first under the name "Ian Niall", filmed by Paul Rotha
*''Tune on a Melodeon'' (1948, Heinemann)
*''Foxhollow'' (1949, Heinemann)
*''The Poacher's Handbook'' (1950, Heinemann)
*''The Deluge'' (1951, Heinemann)
*''Fresh Woods'' (1951, Heinemann; 2012, Little Toller Books)
*''Pastures New'' (1951, Heinemann; 2012, Little Toller Books)
*''The Boy Who Saw Tomorrow'' (1952, Heinemann)
*''A Tiger Walks'' (1960, Heinemann)
*''The New Poacher's Handbook'' (1960, Heinemann)
*''Trout From the Hills'' (1961, Heinemann)
*''The Harmless Albatross''(1961, Heinemann)
*''Hey Delaney!'' (1962, Heinemann)
*''The Game Keeper'' (1965, Heinemann)
*''The Country Blacksmith'' (1966, Heinemann)
*''A Galloway Childhood'' (1967, Heinemann)
*''A Fowler's World: an account of days on the marsh and estuary'' (1968, Heinemann)
*''A Galloway Shepherd'' (1970, Heinemann)
*''The Village Policeman'' (1971, Heinemann)
*''Around My House'' (1973, Heinemann)
*''A London Boyhood'' (1974, Heinemann)
*''One Man and his Dogs'' (1975, Heinemann)
*''To Speed the Plough''(1977, Heinemann)
*''The Idler's Companion'' (1978, Heinemann)
*''The Forester'' (1979, Heinemann)
*''Portrait of a Country Artist.
Charles Tunnicliffe
Charles Frederick Tunnicliffe, OBE, RA (1 December 1901 – 7 February 1979) was an internationally renowned naturalistic painter of British birds and other wildlife. He spent most of his working life on the Isle of Anglesey. He is popularly ...
R.A. 1901–1979'' (1980
Gollancz)
*''Tunnicliffe's Countryside''(1983,
Clive Holloway Books)
*''Feathered Friends'' (1984,
Chatto)
*''Country Matters'' (1984, Gollancz)
*''Ian Niall's Complete Angler'' (1986, Heinemann)
*''Ian Niall's Country Notes'' (1987,
Octopus Books
An octopus ( : octopuses or octopodes, see below for variants) is a soft-bodied, eight- limbed mollusc of the order Octopoda (, ). The order consists of some 300 species and is grouped within the class Cephalopoda with squids, cuttlefish ...
)
*''English Country Traditions'' (1990
V&A)
*''The Way of a Countryman'' (1965 and 1993, Heinemann)
*''Country Life'' (1953–1993, regular column as Ian Niall)
External links and references
Part of his lifeObituary in the ''Glasgow Herald''Entry on Ian Niall.
References
Further reading
*John Manson, ''Ploughmen and Byremen: Novels of Barke, McNellie and Bryce''. In Ross, Raymond, ed., ''
Cencrastus
''Cencrastus'' was a magazine devoted to Scottish and international literature, arts and affairs, founded after the Referendum of 1979 by students, mainly of Scottish literature at Edinburgh University, and with support from Cairns Craig, then a ...
'' No. 52, pp. 3–5.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Niall, Ian
Scottish novelists
Scottish science fiction writers
1916 births
2002 deaths
People from Wigtown
People from Clydebank
20th-century Scottish novelists
Scottish male novelists
20th-century British male writers