Lillian Beckwith (25 April 1916 – 3 January 2004), real name Lillian Comber, was an English writer best known for her series of semi-autobiographical books set on the

Isle of Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye (; gd, An t-Eilean Sgitheanach or ; sco, Isle o Skye), is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated ...

. Born Lilian Lloyd in Ellesmere Port,

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

, she married Edward Comber in 1937, and in 1942 she moved with him to Elgol,

, under doctor's orders for a rest. Moving to the nearby and smaller Isle of

Soay Soay (pronounced "soy") is the name of several Scottish islands. It is Sòdhaigh (sometimes anglicised "Soaigh") in Scottish Gaelic, and comes from the Old Norse ''so-ey'' meaning "island of sheep". It may refer to: * Soay, Inner Hebrides off south ...

, she eventually bought and ran her own

croft Croft may refer to: Occupations * Croft (land), a small area of land, often with a crofter's dwelling * Crofting, small-scale food production * Bleachfield, an open space used for the bleaching of fabric, also called a croft Locations In the Uni ...

. Her life on the island provided the basis for seven books published between 1959 and 1978, although allegedly, some of her neighbours later felt that the somewhat comical characters on Beckwith's fictional island of Bruach were too close to real persons, causing Beckwith to become something of a ''persona non grata'' in her former home. She moved to the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

in 1962 and died on 3 January 2004 aged 87.

Bibliography

Skye series

*1959 - ''The Hills is Lonely'' �
Chapter 1
*1961 - ''The Sea for Breakfast'' �

*1964 - ''The Loud Halo'

(The above titles were published collectively in ''A Hebridean Omnibus'', 1987) *1968 - ''A Rope - In Case'' �

Available in book form, first published by Hutchinson (

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

) with later reprints and illustrated by Douglas Hall *1973 - ''Lightly Poached'' �
Chapter 1
*1976 - ''Beautiful Just!'' �

(The above titles were published collectively in ''A Second Hebridean Omnibus'', 1991) *1978 - ''Bruach Blend'' �

All are also available as audiobooks narrated by Hannah Gordon. Beckwith also wrote a book entitled ''About my Father's Business'' (1971), about her childhood in her father's grocery shop.

Novels

*1967 - ''Green Hand'' *1974 - ''The Spuddy'' (Illustrated by

Victor Ambrus Victor Ambrus (born László Győző Ambrus, 19 August 1935 – 10 February 2021) was a Hungarian-born British illustrator of history, folk tales, and animal story books. He also became known from his appearances on the Channel 4 television ...

) *1984 - ''A Shine of Rainbows'' �
Chapter 1
(adapted into a film-

A Shine of Rainbows ''A Shine of Rainbows'', also known as ''Tomás and the Rainbows'', is a 2009 Irish-Canadian family drama film, directed and co-written by Vic Sarin as an adaptation of the novel ''A Shine of Rainbows'' by Lillian Beckwith. Plot During the 1960s ...

). *1986 - ''A Proper Woman'' *1989 - ''The Small Party'' *1992 - ''An Island Apart'' �
Chapter 1
(audiobook narrated by

Vivien Heilbron Vivien Heilbron (born 13 May 1944) is a Scottish actress. Career Heilbron, who was born in Glasgow, was a member of the company at Dundee Repertory Theatre in the mid-1960s. She achieved fame in her homeland when she appeared in the 1971 BBC ...

BBC Audiobooks America
) *2002 - ''A Breath of Autumn'' �

A collection of short stories : *1988 ''Bay of Strangers'' �

And a cookery book : *1976 ''Hebridean Cook Book''

References

External links

ObituaryLillian Beckwith
on fantasticfiction.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Beckwith, Lillian 1916 births 2004 deaths 20th-century English women writers People from Ellesmere Port People from the Isle of Skye English autobiographers Manx women writers 21st-century English women writers 20th-century English novelists 20th-century English non-fiction writers 21st-century English novelists English women non-fiction writers British women autobiographers