Margaret Elphinstone (born 1948) is a Scottish author of novels, short stories and poetry. She is known especially for ''The Sea Road'', a re-telling of the Viking exploration of the North Atlantic.

Biography

Margaret Elphinstone was born in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, England. At one point she studied at Queen's College in London. She also graduated with a degree in English from

Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_chan ...

. She was until recently, Professor of Writing in the Department of English Studies at the

University of Strathclyde The University of Strathclyde ( gd, Oilthigh Shrath Chluaidh) is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal chart ...

in Glasgow, now retired. Her academic research areas are Scottish writers and the literature of Scotland's offshore islands. She did extensive study tours in

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...

Labrador , nickname = "The Big Land" , etymology = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Canada , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 ...

and the United States. She lived for eight years in the

Shetland Islands Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the no ...

and is the mother of two children. Before becoming professor in Glasgow in 2003, she worked at a variety of jobs in different locations. Some of her experiences were later used in her books: *''Islanders'' is based on her participation in archaeological excavations on the Shetland island of

Papa Stour Papa Stour ( sco, Papa Stour) is one of the Shetland Islands in Scotland, with a population of under fifteen people, some of whom immigrated after an appeal for residents in the 1970s. Located to the west of mainland Shetland and with an area o ...

. *Two garden books emerged after her work as a gardener in

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 ...

. *''Voyageurs'' arose after a one-year stay at

Central Michigan University Central Michigan University (CMU) is a public research university in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. Established in 1892 as the Central Michigan Normal School and Business Institute, the private normal school became a state institution and renamed Cen ...

and canoeing adventures on the

Ottawa River The Ottawa River (french: Rivière des Outaouais, Algonquin: ''Kichi-Sìbì/Kitchissippi'') is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. It is named after the Algonquin word 'to trade', as it was the major trade route of Eastern ...

Bibliography

* 1985 "Spinning the Green", short story * 1987 ''The Incomer or Clachanpluck'', novel. * 1989 ''A Sparrow's Flight'', novel. * 1991 ''An Apple from a tree'', short stories. * 1994 ''Islanders'', novel. * 2000 ''The Sea Road'', novel. (Ger 2001: Der Weg nach Vinland), based on the life of Gudrid of Iceland * 2002 ''Hy Brasil'', novel. (Ger 2004: Inselnotizen), based on the mythical island of Brasil * 2003 ''

Voyageurs The voyageurs (; ) were 18th and 19th century French Canadians who engaged in the transporting of furs via canoe during the peak of the North American fur trade. The emblematic meaning of the term applies to places (New France, including the ' ...

'', novel. (Ger 2006: Stromaufwärts) * 2006 ''Light'', novel. * 2009 ''The Gathering Night'', novel. ...

Prizes

* 1990 Scottish Arts Council Writer's Bursary * 1991 Scottish Arts Council Travel Award for ''The Sea Road'' * 1993 Scottish Arts Council Writer's Bursary * 1994 Scottish Arts Council Travel Award * 2001 Scottish Arts Council Spring Book Award for ''Hy Brasil'' * 1997 Scottish Arts Council Writer's Bursary for ''Voyageurs'' * 2000 Scottish Arts Council Writer's Bursary

Reviews

* Gladstone, Mary (1987), ''A New Promise'', a review of ''The Incomer'', in '' Cencrastus'' No. 28, Winter 87/88, pp. 14 & 15,

References

External links

Website of Margaret ElphinstoneMargaret Elphinstone in booksfromscotland.comMargaret Elphinstone in Contemporary Writers in the UK
(German)
Scottish Arts Council
*Margaret Elphinstone: '' Stromaufwärts''. List Verlag 2006, p. 2 below. 522 pp., {{DEFAULTSORT:Elphinstone, Margaret 1948 births Living people Scottish women novelists Scottish historical novelists Academics of the University of Strathclyde People educated at Queen's College, London Writers from Glasgow 20th-century Scottish novelists 21st-century Scottish novelists 20th-century Scottish women writers 21st-century Scottish women writers Women historical novelists Alumni of St Mary's College, Durham