Alasdair Alpin MacGregor
Encyclopedia
Alasdair Alpin MacGregor (1899 - 1970) was a Scottish
writer and photographer, known for a large number of travel books. He wrote also on Scottish folklore, and was a published poet.
He was brought up in Tain
and Inverness
, and educated there and in Edinburgh
. His books were mainly about Scotland, and his romanticising style incurred the displeasure of Compton Mackenzie
, who caricatured him in some of his novels (perhaps unjustly so as MacGregor was forced to be critically realistic about certain aspects of life on the west coast, in his book The western Isles). Judging by the title of the 1931 book A Last Voyage to St. Kilda. Being the Observations and Adventures of an Egotistic Private Secretary who was alleged to have been 'warned off' That Island by Admiralty Officials when attempting to emulate Robinson Crusoe at the Time of Its Evacuation there might have been something to caricature. In partial explanation, St Kilda
was evacuated in 1930; at the time he was Private Secretary to the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
. The same book was the subject of a legal case when MacGregor brought an injunction to prevent the distribution of The Edge of the World
, a film by Michael Powell
that he claimed was based on it. MacGregor lost the case.
He lived in London for most of his adult life in Swan Court and Upper Cheyne Row, Chelsea.
His book about his childhood, The Goat Wife, tells the evocative story of his hard working and resourceful Aunt Dorothy, who left a comfortable existence in Edinburgh
's Ann Street - reputed to be the most haunted street in Edinburgh - to begin life as a solo crofter in the Easter Ross
village of Ardgay
(then known locally as "High Wind"). Spanning the period before the First World War
until the end of the Second, it captures the last remnants of the simplicity, privations and charm of Scottish rural community life. The "Victor" in the book is the poet Frederick Victor Branford
.
Along with T. Ratcliffe Barnett, an Edinburgh Minister and author, MacGregor reflects a transitional period during the first half of the 20th century when the north of Scotland was still rural and mostly unaffected by modern society.
He was also a campaigner against vivisection
.
In the years before his death in 1970, he visited the United States often and was a mentor to a young Marion Barry
, who later became mayor of Washington, D.C.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
writer and photographer, known for a large number of travel books. He wrote also on Scottish folklore, and was a published poet.
He was brought up in Tain
Tain
Tain is a royal burgh and post town in the committee area of Ross and Cromarty, in the Highland area of Scotland.-Etymology:...
and Inverness
Inverness
Inverness is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for the Highland council area, and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands of Scotland...
, and educated there and in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
. His books were mainly about Scotland, and his romanticising style incurred the displeasure of Compton Mackenzie
Compton Mackenzie
Sir Compton Mackenzie, OBE was a writer and a Scottish nationalist.-Background:Compton Mackenzie was born in West Hartlepool, England, into a theatrical family of Mackenzies, but many of whose members used Compton as their stage surname, starting with his grandfather Henry Compton, a well-known...
, who caricatured him in some of his novels (perhaps unjustly so as MacGregor was forced to be critically realistic about certain aspects of life on the west coast, in his book The western Isles). Judging by the title of the 1931 book A Last Voyage to St. Kilda. Being the Observations and Adventures of an Egotistic Private Secretary who was alleged to have been 'warned off' That Island by Admiralty Officials when attempting to emulate Robinson Crusoe at the Time of Its Evacuation there might have been something to caricature. In partial explanation, St Kilda
St Kilda, Scotland
St Kilda is an isolated archipelago west-northwest of North Uist in the North Atlantic Ocean. It contains the westernmost islands of the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The largest island is Hirta, whose sea cliffs are the highest in the United Kingdom and three other islands , were also used for...
was evacuated in 1930; at the time he was Private Secretary to the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is, in modern times, a ministerial office in the government of the United Kingdom that includes as part of its duties, the administration of the estates and rents of the Duchy of Lancaster...
. The same book was the subject of a legal case when MacGregor brought an injunction to prevent the distribution of The Edge of the World
The Edge of the World
The Edge of the World was the first major project by British filmmaker Michael Powell.-Plot:The film is the story of the de-population of one of the isolated, outer islands of Scotland as, one by one, the younger generation leaves for the greater opportunities offered by the mainland, making it...
, a film by Michael Powell
Michael Powell (director)
Michael Latham Powell was a renowned English film director, celebrated for his partnership with Emeric Pressburger...
that he claimed was based on it. MacGregor lost the case.
He lived in London for most of his adult life in Swan Court and Upper Cheyne Row, Chelsea.
His book about his childhood, The Goat Wife, tells the evocative story of his hard working and resourceful Aunt Dorothy, who left a comfortable existence in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
's Ann Street - reputed to be the most haunted street in Edinburgh - to begin life as a solo crofter in the Easter Ross
Easter Ross
Easter Ross is a loosely defined area in the east of Ross, Highland, Scotland.The name is used in the constituency name Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, which is the name of both a British House of Commons constituency and a Scottish Parliament constituency...
village of Ardgay
Ardgay
Ardgay is a small Scottish village on the north west shore of the Dornoch Firth, Sutherland and lies at the entrance to Strathcarron, the valley of the River Carron. In the Highland Council area Ardgay is in Ward 1, the North, West and Central Sutherland ward.Ardgay is served by the Ardgay...
(then known locally as "High Wind"). Spanning the period before the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
until the end of the Second, it captures the last remnants of the simplicity, privations and charm of Scottish rural community life. The "Victor" in the book is the poet Frederick Victor Branford
Frederick Victor Branford
Frederick Victor Branford was a British poet, known for verse of World War I and the years after.Born Frederick Victor Rubens Branford Powell, the son of Mary Branford, was known as 'Freddie'...
.
Along with T. Ratcliffe Barnett, an Edinburgh Minister and author, MacGregor reflects a transitional period during the first half of the 20th century when the north of Scotland was still rural and mostly unaffected by modern society.
He was also a campaigner against vivisection
Vivisection
Vivisection is defined as surgery conducted for experimental purposes on a living organism, typically animals with a central nervous system, to view living internal structure...
.
In the years before his death in 1970, he visited the United States often and was a mentor to a young Marion Barry
Marion Barry
Marion Shepilov Barry, Jr. is an American Democratic politician who is currently serving as a member of the Council of the District of Columbia, representing DC's Ward 8. Barry served as the second elected mayor of the District of Columbia from 1979 to 1991, and again as the fourth mayor from 1995...
, who later became mayor of Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
Biographical works
- Vanished Waters: Portrait of a Highland Childhood
- Auld Reekie: Portrait of a Lowland Boyhood
- The Turbulent Years: A Portrait of Youth in Auld Reekie
- The Goat Wife: Portrait of a Village
- Percyval Tudor-Hart: Portrait of an Artist
- The Golden Lamp: Portrait of a Landlady
- Land of the Mountain and the Flood
- The Enchanted Isles
- The Peat-Fire Flame: Folk-tales and Traditions of the Highlands and Islands
- Journeyman Taylor: The Education of a Scientist (rewrite of the Thomas Griffith TaylorThomas Griffith TaylorThomas Griffith "Grif" Taylor was a British / Australian geographer, anthropologist and world explorer. He was a survivor of Captain Robert Scott's ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition to Antarctica .-Early life:...
autobiography).