Tartan Noir
Encyclopedia
Tartan Noir is a form of crime fiction
particular to Scotland
and Scottish
writers. It has its roots in Scottish literature
but borrows elements from elsewhere, including from the work of American crime writers of the second half of the twentieth century, especially of the hard-boiled genre, and of European authors.
coined the name when he described Ian Rankin
as "the king of tartan noir" for a book cover. Tartan Noir draws on the traditions of Scottish literature, being strongly influenced by James Hogg
's Confessions of a Justified Sinner
and Robert Louis Stevenson
's Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. These works dwell on the duality of the soul
; the nature of good and evil
; issues of redemption
, salvation and damnation
amongst others. The Scottish concept of the "Caledonian antisyzygy
", the duality of a single entity, is a key driving force in Scottish literature, and it appears especially prominently in the Tartan Noir genre.
Contemporary crime writers have also been influenced by 1930s and 1940s United States masters of the hard-boiled genre, particularly Dashiell Hammett
and Raymond Chandler
. Allan Guthrie
's work shows their influence, as does some of Ian Rankin. More recent American authors who have influenced Scottish writing include James Ellroy, whose focus on police and societal corruption has proven especially resonant with Rankin. Ed McBain's use of the police procedural
genre has also been influential.
Scottish crime writing has also been influenced by European traditions. For instance, Georges Simenon
's Inspector Maigret goes after the criminals, but refuses to judge them, seeing crime as a human situation to be understood. William McIlvanney
's novel Laidlaw
(1977), with its lead character of Inspector Jack Laidlaw, seemed to have been influenced by Maigret. The social criticism in Sjöwall and Wahlöö
's Martin Beck
detective series appears in many works of Tartan Noir, such as the dark novels of Denise Mina
.
McIlvanney's Laidlaw novel has been called the first novel of the tartan noir genre, given its combination of humanism and police procedural. While Laidlaw is critically important, and a novel that inspired many authors, the TV series Taggart
established crime in a Scottish setting in the popular imagination. Glenn Chandler
, creator of Taggart and writer of many of its early stories, may have been inspired by Laidlaw
. Both share a Glasgow
setting and involve the investigations by Glasgow police
into murders.
es, with readers not automatically being expected to sympathise with them – an illustrative example appears in Ian Rankin
's Knots and Crosses
when Inspector Rebus
blatantly steals bread roll
s and milk
from a shop, without apology or remorse. The main characters often go through personal crises in the course of the stories, with these crises often forming a key part of the story. The main character frequently has personal reasons for dealing with the crime, whether from personal history or a sense of right and wrong. Val McDermid
's presents her character Lindsay Gordon as being motivated by the murder of a friend and homophobic
jibes about the death of her former lover as impetus to catch the murderer.
."
Critics question whether a genre can encompass such a wide range of authors, reaching from Val McDermid
to Ian Rankin
; some also dislike the name. Charles Taylor has noted that the term has an "inescapably condescending tinge", noting "it's a touristy phrase, suggesting that there's something quaint about hard-boiled crime fiction that comes from the land of kilts and haggis."
Crime fiction
Crime fiction is the literary genre that fictionalizes crimes, their detection, criminals and their motives. It is usually distinguished from mainstream fiction and other genres such as science fiction or historical fiction, but boundaries can be, and indeed are, blurred...
particular to Scotland
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...
and Scottish
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
writers. It has its roots in Scottish literature
Scottish literature
Scottish literature is literature written in Scotland or by Scottish writers. It includes literature written in English, Scottish Gaelic, Scots, Brythonic, French, Latin and any other language in which a piece of literature was ever written within the boundaries of modern Scotland.The earliest...
but borrows elements from elsewhere, including from the work of American crime writers of the second half of the twentieth century, especially of the hard-boiled genre, and of European authors.
Roots and influences
The United States crime writer James EllroyJames Ellroy
Lee Earle "James" Ellroy is an American crime fiction writer and essayist. Ellroy has become known for a so-called "telegraphic" prose style in his most recent work, wherein he frequently omits connecting words and uses only short, staccato sentences, and in particular for the novels The Black...
coined the name when he described Ian Rankin
Ian Rankin
Ian Rankin, OBE, DL , is a Scottish crime writer. His best known books are the Inspector Rebus novels. He has also written several pieces of literary criticism.-Background:He attended Beath High School, Cowdenbeath...
as "the king of tartan noir" for a book cover. Tartan Noir draws on the traditions of Scottish literature, being strongly influenced by James Hogg
James Hogg
James Hogg was a Scottish poet and novelist who wrote in both Scots and English.-Early life:James Hogg was born in a small farm near Ettrick, Scotland in 1770 and was baptized there on 9 December, his actual date of birth having never been recorded...
's Confessions of a Justified Sinner
The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner
The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner, is a novel that was written by the Scottish author James Hogg and published anonymously in...
and Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist and travel writer. His best-known books include Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde....
's Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. These works dwell on the duality of the soul
Soul
A soul in certain spiritual, philosophical, and psychological traditions is the incorporeal essence of a person or living thing or object. Many philosophical and spiritual systems teach that humans have souls, and others teach that all living things and even inanimate objects have souls. The...
; the nature of good and evil
Evil
Evil is the violation of, or intent to violate, some moral code. Evil is usually seen as the dualistic opposite of good. Definitions of evil vary along with analysis of its root motive causes, however general actions commonly considered evil include: conscious and deliberate wrongdoing,...
; issues of redemption
Redemption (theology)
Redemption is a concept common to several theologies. It is generally associated with the efforts of people within a faith to overcome their shortcomings and achieve the moral positions exemplified in their faith.- In Buddhism :...
, salvation and damnation
Damnation
Damnation is the concept of everlasting divine punishment and/or disgrace, especially the punishment for sin as threatened by God . A damned being "in damnation" is said to be either in Hell, or living in a state wherein they are divorced from Heaven and/or in a state of disgrace from God's favor...
amongst others. The Scottish concept of the "Caledonian antisyzygy
Caledonian Antisyzygy
The term Caledonian Antisyzygy refers to the "idea of dueling polarities within one entity", thought of as typical for the Scottish psyche and literature. It was first coined by G...
", the duality of a single entity, is a key driving force in Scottish literature, and it appears especially prominently in the Tartan Noir genre.
Contemporary crime writers have also been influenced by 1930s and 1940s United States masters of the hard-boiled genre, particularly Dashiell Hammett
Dashiell Hammett
Samuel Dashiell Hammett was an American author of hard-boiled detective novels and short stories, and political activist. Among the enduring characters he created are Sam Spade , Nick and Nora Charles , and the Continental Op .In addition to the significant influence his novels and stories had on...
and Raymond Chandler
Raymond Chandler
Raymond Thornton Chandler was an American novelist and screenwriter.In 1932, at age forty-five, Raymond Chandler decided to become a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive during the Depression. His first short story, "Blackmailers Don't Shoot", was published in...
. Allan Guthrie
Allan Guthrie
Allan Guthrie is a Scottish literary agent, and an author and editor of crime fiction. He was born in Orkney, but has lived in Edinburgh for most of his adult life. His first novel, Two-Way Split, was shortlisted for the CWA Debut Dagger Award, and it won the Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel...
's work shows their influence, as does some of Ian Rankin. More recent American authors who have influenced Scottish writing include James Ellroy, whose focus on police and societal corruption has proven especially resonant with Rankin. Ed McBain's use of the police procedural
Police procedural
The police procedural is a subgenre of detective fiction which attempts to convincingly depict the activities of a police force as they investigate crimes. While traditional detective novels usually concentrate on a single crime, police procedurals frequently depict investigations into several...
genre has also been influential.
Scottish crime writing has also been influenced by European traditions. For instance, Georges Simenon
Georges Simenon
Georges Joseph Christian Simenon was a Belgian writer. A prolific author who published nearly 200 novels and numerous short works, Simenon is best known for the creation of the fictional detective Maigret.-Early life and education:...
's Inspector Maigret goes after the criminals, but refuses to judge them, seeing crime as a human situation to be understood. William McIlvanney
William McIlvanney
William McIlvanney is a writer of crime stories, novels, and poetry. McIlvanney is a champion of gritty yet poetic literature; his works Laidlaw, The Papers of Tony Veitch, and Walking Wounded are all known for their portrayal of Glasgow in the 1970s.- Life and career :McIlvanney was born in the...
's novel Laidlaw
Laidlaw (novel)
Laidlaw is the first novel of a series of crime books by William McIlvanney. It features DI Laidlaw and DC Harkness, his assigned assistant, in their attempts to find the brutal sex related murderer of a Glasgow teenager...
(1977), with its lead character of Inspector Jack Laidlaw, seemed to have been influenced by Maigret. The social criticism in Sjöwall and Wahlöö
Sjöwall and Wahlöö
Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö, a common-law wife and husband team of detective writers from Sweden. Together they conceived and wrote a series of ten novels about the exploits of detectives from the special homicide commission of the national police in which the character of Martin Beck was the...
's Martin Beck
Martin Beck
Martin Beck is a fictional Swedish police detective who is the main character in a series of ten novels by Sjöwall and Wahlöö, collectively titled The Story of a Crime...
detective series appears in many works of Tartan Noir, such as the dark novels of Denise Mina
Denise Mina
Denise Mina is a Scottish crime writer and playwright. She has written the Garnethill trilogy and another three novels featuring the character Patricia "Paddy" Meehan, a Glasgow journalist. Described as an author of Tartan Noir, she has also dabbled in comic book writing, having recently written...
.
McIlvanney's Laidlaw novel has been called the first novel of the tartan noir genre, given its combination of humanism and police procedural. While Laidlaw is critically important, and a novel that inspired many authors, the TV series Taggart
Taggart
Taggart is a Scottish detective television programme, created by Glenn Chandler, who has written many of the episodes, and made by STV Productions for the ITV network...
established crime in a Scottish setting in the popular imagination. Glenn Chandler
Glenn Chandler
Glenn Chandler is an award-winning Scottish playwright and novelist. He has written plays for theatre and radio, original screenplays for television and films, television series, and novels...
, creator of Taggart and writer of many of its early stories, may have been inspired by Laidlaw
Laidlaw (novel)
Laidlaw is the first novel of a series of crime books by William McIlvanney. It features DI Laidlaw and DC Harkness, his assigned assistant, in their attempts to find the brutal sex related murderer of a Glasgow teenager...
. Both share a Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
setting and involve the investigations by Glasgow police
Strathclyde Police
Strathclyde Police is the territorial police force responsible for the Scottish council areas of Argyll and Bute, City of Glasgow, East Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire and West...
into murders.
Characteristics
The world-view of Tartan Noir tends toward the cynical and world-weary, typified by "hard-boiled". Many of the protagonists in Tartan Noir stories are anti-heroAnti-hero
In fiction, an antihero is generally considered to be a protagonist whose character is at least in some regards conspicuously contrary to that of the archetypal hero, and is in some instances its antithesis in which the character is generally useless at being a hero or heroine when they're...
es, with readers not automatically being expected to sympathise with them – an illustrative example appears in Ian Rankin
Ian Rankin
Ian Rankin, OBE, DL , is a Scottish crime writer. His best known books are the Inspector Rebus novels. He has also written several pieces of literary criticism.-Background:He attended Beath High School, Cowdenbeath...
's Knots and Crosses
Knots and Crosses
Knots and Crosses is a 1987 crime novel by Ian Rankin. It is the first of the Inspector Rebus novels. It was written while Rankin was a postgraduate student at the University of Edinburgh...
when Inspector Rebus
Inspector Rebus
The Inspector Rebus books are a series of detective novels by the Scottish author Ian Rankin. The novels, centred on the title character Detective Inspector John Rebus, are mostly based in and around Edinburgh.-Content and style:...
blatantly steals bread roll
Bread roll
A bread roll is a piece of bread, usually small and round and is commonly considered a side dish. Bread rolls are often used in the same way as sandwiches are—cut transversely, with fillings placed between the two halves.-Various forms:...
s and milk
Milk
Milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Early-lactation milk contains colostrum, which carries the mother's antibodies to the baby and can reduce the risk of many...
from a shop, without apology or remorse. The main characters often go through personal crises in the course of the stories, with these crises often forming a key part of the story. The main character frequently has personal reasons for dealing with the crime, whether from personal history or a sense of right and wrong. Val McDermid
Val McDermid
Val McDermid is a Scottish crime writer, best known for a series of suspense novels starring her most famous creation, Dr. Tony Hill.-Biography:...
's presents her character Lindsay Gordon as being motivated by the murder of a friend and homophobic
Homophobia
Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
jibes about the death of her former lover as impetus to catch the murderer.
Criticism
Literary critics discuss whether the genre is a viable one, or one created by publishers seeking a unique selling point for an audience tired of much US and English crime fiction. William McIlvanney has said that the whole genre is "ersatzErsatz
Ersatz means 'substituting for, and typically inferior in quality to', e.g. 'chicory is ersatz coffee'. It is a German word literally meaning substitute or replacement...
."
Critics question whether a genre can encompass such a wide range of authors, reaching from Val McDermid
Val McDermid
Val McDermid is a Scottish crime writer, best known for a series of suspense novels starring her most famous creation, Dr. Tony Hill.-Biography:...
to Ian Rankin
Ian Rankin
Ian Rankin, OBE, DL , is a Scottish crime writer. His best known books are the Inspector Rebus novels. He has also written several pieces of literary criticism.-Background:He attended Beath High School, Cowdenbeath...
; some also dislike the name. Charles Taylor has noted that the term has an "inescapably condescending tinge", noting "it's a touristy phrase, suggesting that there's something quaint about hard-boiled crime fiction that comes from the land of kilts and haggis."
Tartan Noir writers
- Lin AndersonLin AndersonLin Anderson is a Tartan Noir crime novelist and screenwriter, best known as the creator of forensic scientist Rhona MacLeod. The Rhona MacLeod books are currently being developed for ITV.- Biography :...
- Christopher BrookmyreChristopher BrookmyreChristopher Brookmyre is a Scottish novelist whose novels mix comedy, politics, social comment and action with a strong narrative. He has been referred to as a Tartan Noir author...
- Glenn ChandlerGlenn ChandlerGlenn Chandler is an award-winning Scottish playwright and novelist. He has written plays for theatre and radio, original screenplays for television and films, television series, and novels...
- Alex GrayAlex Gray (author)Alex Gray, born 27 May 1950, Glasgow, is a Scottish crime writer. She has published six novels, all set around Glasgow and featuring the character of Detective Chief Inspector Lorimer and his psychological profiler Solomon Brightman, the earlier novels being published by Canongate and later books...
- Allan GuthrieAllan GuthrieAllan Guthrie is a Scottish literary agent, and an author and editor of crime fiction. He was born in Orkney, but has lived in Edinburgh for most of his adult life. His first novel, Two-Way Split, was shortlisted for the CWA Debut Dagger Award, and it won the Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel...
- Stuart MacBrideStuart MacBrideStuart MacBride is a Scottish writer, most famous for his crime thrillers set in the "Granite City" of Aberdeen and featuring Detective Sergeant Logan McRae.-Biography:...
- Val McDermidVal McDermidVal McDermid is a Scottish crime writer, best known for a series of suspense novels starring her most famous creation, Dr. Tony Hill.-Biography:...
- William McIlvanneyWilliam McIlvanneyWilliam McIlvanney is a writer of crime stories, novels, and poetry. McIlvanney is a champion of gritty yet poetic literature; his works Laidlaw, The Papers of Tony Veitch, and Walking Wounded are all known for their portrayal of Glasgow in the 1970s.- Life and career :McIlvanney was born in the...
- Denise MinaDenise MinaDenise Mina is a Scottish crime writer and playwright. She has written the Garnethill trilogy and another three novels featuring the character Patricia "Paddy" Meehan, a Glasgow journalist. Described as an author of Tartan Noir, she has also dabbled in comic book writing, having recently written...
- Caro RamsayCaro RamsayCaro Ramsay is a Scottish writer of crime fiction. Her first two novels are police procedurals, set in Glasgow, featuring DI Colin Anderson and DS Costello.-Background:Caro was born in Govan, on Glasgow's south side...
- Ian RankinIan RankinIan Rankin, OBE, DL , is a Scottish crime writer. His best known books are the Inspector Rebus novels. He has also written several pieces of literary criticism.-Background:He attended Beath High School, Cowdenbeath...
- Manda ScottManda ScottManda Scott is a veterinary surgeon and writer. Born and educated in Glasgow, Scotland, she trained at the University of Glasgow School of Veterinary Medicine and now lives and works in Shropshire, sharing her life with her partner, Inca the lurcher and other assorted wildlife. She is known...
- Louise WelshLouise WelshLouise Welsh is an author of short stories and novels, based in Glasgow, Scotland.Welsh studied History at Glasgow University and traded in second-hand books for several years before publishing her first novel....
Landmark Tartan Noir titles
- LaidlawLaidlaw (novel)Laidlaw is the first novel of a series of crime books by William McIlvanney. It features DI Laidlaw and DC Harkness, his assigned assistant, in their attempts to find the brutal sex related murderer of a Glasgow teenager...
(1977) by William McIlvanneyWilliam McIlvanneyWilliam McIlvanney is a writer of crime stories, novels, and poetry. McIlvanney is a champion of gritty yet poetic literature; his works Laidlaw, The Papers of Tony Veitch, and Walking Wounded are all known for their portrayal of Glasgow in the 1970s.- Life and career :McIlvanney was born in the... - Black and BlueBlack and Blue (novel)Black and Blue is a 1997 crime novel by the Scots author Ian Rankin. The eighth of the Inspector Rebus novels, it was the first to be adapted in the Rebus television series starring John Hannah, airing in 2000....
(1997) by Ian RankinIan RankinIan Rankin, OBE, DL , is a Scottish crime writer. His best known books are the Inspector Rebus novels. He has also written several pieces of literary criticism.-Background:He attended Beath High School, Cowdenbeath...