Margaret Dunlop
I am an author, based in Biggar in Lanarkshire, Scotland. "Marching in Scotland - Dancing in New York" is my first published novel
Saturday, 6 January 2008

Welcome to my blog. Since the publication of my novel in August 2007 I have had a lot of praise from readers - which is very gratifying as I could not have predicted the reaction the book would receive. Quite a few people have also suggested I write a sequel. My husband, ever expectant, has bought me a laptop computer so that I can write even when on holiday (wishful thinking!). I hope you too will enjoy the book. You can always let me know.
The book is a moving and at times very amusing read about life as it was in the 1920’s and 30’s. It is about two large families who grow up alongside each other in the village that was sucked into the industrial melting-pot of Central Scotland to form part of the great city of Glasgow. A parallel story is played out in New York.
The protagonists are the Dennys, a Scots family of partly Irish descent and the Drydens from England. The Dennys are relatively poor but with a fun-loving, somewhat devil-may-care attitude to life and a love of books and politics. The Drydens are home-loving, refined and cultured, for whom domestic skills and respectability are priorities. The families are thrown together socially through the marriage of Honor from the English side and Edward from the Scottish side. It is a journey through hard times and good times, but with fun and humour never far away. Tragedy strikes in a heart-rending desolate way, while love and sexual encounters are ever present. How do Honor and Edward and their respective families react to the events that surround them? Are they held captive by their circumstances or can they overcome them?
Susan Denny, Edward’s sister, leaves Glasgow to take up a post as a nanny in New York but will she cope with a dramatically different, fast and hedonistic lifestyle and with temptations far removed from her strict upbringing? Her rich employers, her liberated companions, and the tensions generated by the ties to home make Susan’s story gripping. This part of the novel seems to have appealed greatly to women readers who must, it would appear, identify with Susan or even envy her experiences.
The story is drawn on fact – based on my family and friends in Glasgow where I was born and brought up. It has as its background many of the historical events and some of the real-life characters of the time, and as a backdrop some of the well-known landmarks of Scotland – and New York.
It is a story of a generation that founded ours and to which many of all ages will relate. It is a book of contrasts and brings to life the atmosphere of the time.You can get more information from my website at http://www.margaretdunlop.com/.You can buy the book from any good bookshop, or direct from Melrose Books at www.melrosebooks.com, or from Amazon (Amazon.co.uk - not Amazon.com)
posted by Margaret M. Dunlop at 13:04 1 Comments
About Me

Name: Margaret Dunlop
Location: United Kingdom
View my complete profile
Links
Margaret Dunlop.com
Buy the Book Here:
Melrose Books
Buy the Book from Amazon
Atkinson Pryce Bookshop
Books From Scotland
Scottish and local websites:
Milngavie Book and Arts Festival
Rampant Scotland
The Capital Scot
Clyde Valley Website
Writers' Groups:
Biggar Writers
Borders Writers
Other Links:
Netdata Web Design
Previous Posts
Welcome to my blog. Since the publication of my no...
Marching in Scotland - Dancing in New York
Archives
June 2007
August 2007

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Welcome to my blog. Since the publication of my novel in August 2007 I have had a lot of praise from readers - which is very gratifying as I could not have predicted the reaction the book would receive. Quite a few people have also suggested I write a sequel. My husband, ever expectant, has bought me a laptop computer so that I can write even when on holiday (wishful thinking!). I hope you too will enjoy the book. You can always let me know.

The book is a moving and at times very amusing read about life as it was in the 1920’s and 30’s. It is about two large families who grow up alongside each other in the village that was sucked into the industrial melting-pot of Central Scotland to form part of the great city of Glasgow. A parallel story is played out in New York.

The protagonists are the Dennys, a Scots family of partly Irish descent and the Drydens from England. The Dennys are relatively poor but with a fun-loving, somewhat devil-may-care attitude to life and a love of books and politics. The Drydens are home-loving, refined and cultured, for whom domestic skills and respectability are priorities. The families are thrown together socially through the marriage of Honor from the English side and Edward from the Scottish side. It is a journey through hard times and good times, but with fun and humour never far away. Tragedy strikes in a heart-rending desolate way, while love and sexual encounters are ever present. How do Honor and Edward and their respective families react to the events that surround them? Are they held captive by their circumstances or can they overcome them?

Susan Denny, Edward’s sister, leaves Glasgow to take up a post as a nanny in New York but will she cope with a dramatically different, fast and hedonistic lifestyle and with temptations far removed from her strict upbringing? Her rich employers, her liberated companions, and the tensions generated by the ties to home make Susan’s story gripping. This part of the novel seems to have appealed greatly to women readers who must, it would appear, identify with Susan or even envy her experiences.

The story is drawn on fact – based on my family and friends in Glasgow where I was born and brought up. It has as its background many of the historical events and some of the real-life characters of the time, and as a backdrop some of the well-known landmarks of Scotland – and New York.

It is a story of a generation that founded ours and to which many of all ages will relate. It is a book of contrasts and brings to life the atmosphere of the time.

You can get more information from my website at http://www.margaretdunlop.com/.

You can buy the book from any good bookshop, or direct from Melrose Books at www.melrosebooks.com, or from Amazon (Amazon.co.uk - not Amazon.com)