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Fair Helen

Andrew Greig

Shortlisted for the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction 2014.

'One of the best historical novels of recent years Greig dusts off the past and presents it with tremendous skill' - Literary Review
'A Triumph of suspense' - Guardian

Saltire Award-winning author Andrew Greig reimagines the Border Ballad Fair Helen of Kirkconnel Lea as a dark romance and stirring adventure. Often called the Scottish Romeo & Juliet here it is re-presented as the source of an equally famed more complex drama.

The Scottish Borderlands 1590s
Harry Langton is called back to the country of his childhood to aide an old friend Adam Fleming who believes his life is in danger. He's fallen for Helen of Annandale and in turn fallen foul of her rival Robert Bell: a man as violent as he is influential. In a land where minor lairds vie for power and blood feuds are settled by the sword Fleming faces a battle to win Helen's hand. Entrusted as guard to the lovers' secret trysts Langton is thrust into the middle of a dangerous triangle; and discovers Helen is not so chaste as she is fair. But Langton has his own secrets to keep - and other friends to serve. Someone has noticed his connections and recruited him in their bid to control the hierarchy of the Border families; someone who would use lovers as pawns in a game of war.

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  • Classification : General & Literary Fiction
  • Pub Date : MAY 1, 2014
  • Imprint : Quercus
  • Page Extent : 368
  • Binding : PB
  • ISBN : 9781782066736
  • Price : INR 899
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Andrew Greig

Andrew Greig was born in Bannockburn near Stirling in 1951. He completed an MA in Philosophy at Edinburgh University and then worked in a variety of jobs, including salmon netting, hop picking and farm work. He 'survived' as a poet for nearly 20 years thanks to the Scottish Arts Council and various bursaries, as well as teaching creative writing in schools and giving readings. He was Writer-in-Residence at Glasgow University from 1979-1981, and at Edinburgh University from 1992-1994.$$$Andrew Greig now lives in Orkney and the Lothians. His first novel, Electric Brae, was shortlisted for the McVitie's Prize and the Boardman-Tasker Award, and his second, The Return of John MacNab, was shortlisted for the Romantic Novelist's Award and topped the Scottish bestseller lists in 1996. He is also the author of the acclaimed When They Lay Bare (1999) and That Summer (2000).$$$He is recognized as one of the leading Scottish poets of his generation, having written six volumes of poetry. He is also well-known for his writing on mountaineering, based on his climbing experiences in Scotland and the Himalayas. His acknowledged classic in mountaineering literature, Kingdoms of Experience, has recently been reissued by Canongate.

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