The Crofter and the Laird

McPhee has an engaging, conversational tone that is at once easy to read as well as instructive. Additionally, my library’s copy of the book contained beautiful pen and ink drawings by James Graves. The book is less a travel essay than an ethnography, as he delves into the history, myths, and community of Colonsay. Along the way he investigates, celebrates and debunks a great deal.

John McPhee gently roams from beautiful and evocative landscape and sea descriptions
into horrific clam murders and pursuits.

While readers may side with the Scottish crofters who are not allowed to buy their land or homes, the English laird's
perspective is also freely offered.

I recently returned from my first visit to Scotland and rummaged this unread book from my library.

I enjoy McPhee's writing in The New Yorker, and this early example did not disappoint. As a young father, he takes his wife and daughters to the Hebridean island of Colonsay (population: 138), where assorted McPhees originated, and lives there for "a while."

The book is a beautifully written description of the tenants (crofters) of the island, now owned by an Etonian/Cambridge "laird", with a few words about the laird himself.

Life on the island for the crofters is imbued with the presence of fairies, ancient warriors and "little people", all helping the inhabitants to cope with a tough subsistent life. McPhee captures well the heart of show more the still feudal life on the island. show less

I was in a delightful little indy bookstore in the Scottish town of Fort William when I encountered The Crofter and the Laird by John McPhee, a 153 page quick read that originally appeared in “The New Yorker.” The book describes the geography and sociology of a small (17 square miles) island (Colonsay), about 25 miles off the West Coast of Scotland to which the author had traced his ancestry. One hundred and thirty-eight people still lived on that island in 1969, when the book was written.

I could hardly pass up the book since my wife and I were scheduled the next day to visit the Isle of Skye, a somewhat larger island a few miles north of Colonsay. McPhee describes a close-knit, insular society little changed from the 18th century. show more Families on the island trace their progenitors back centuries, but with no industry and few jobs, the islanders fear their island may become uninhabited like Pabby, Sandray, Taransay, Scarba, Soay, Mingulay, and St. Kilda - other now unpopulated islets in the Hebrides.

Land ownership and legal relationships on the island are nearly feudal, with a single landlord (the Laird) owning nearly the entire place. Tenant farmers (the crofters) work the land and pay rent to the Laird. The island is home to just a few professionals who handle all the lawyering and doctoring needed.

McPhee has an exceptionally good eye for detail, and his descriptions of the colorful residents of Colonsay give the reader a comprehensive sense of their unusual, if constricted, existence. This is not one of McPhee’s best or most interesting books, but it was very timely and topical for me on my Scotland vacation

(JAB) show less

An interesting series of anecdotes about life on Colonsay, written in the 1960s. I was expecting a book in the "family moves to unusual place and struggles to adapt to life there" line, but that's not what McPhee has written. An enjoyable read, probably only suitable for those with a real interest in Scotland.

Everyone knows about the Scottish clans; a little, at least. And most have heard about the strange feudal system of crofting. By moving his family to Colonsay for a few months and living side-by-side with a crofter and his wife, McPhee explores the people, mythology, history, landscape, and daily lives and concerns of the island via a wide-ranging series of episodes.

McPhee writes lightly, with humour, and with a discerning and sceptical eye. And, as Iain Crichton-Smith points out: (McPhee is) neither sentimental nor judgemental.

I loved this book.

Spend some time on a Scottish island. Interesting, well written.