Writings
From childhood onwards, Tranter took a great interest in castles and their associated history. As a result, in 1935, at age 25, he published his first book, The Fortalices and Early Mansions of Southern Scotland. Encouraged by his wife, he wrote his first novel, In Our Arms Our Fortune, which was rejected by the publishers. However, Trespass soon followed and was accepted by The Moray Press. Unfortunately, they went bankrupt soon after its publication in 1937, and he didn't receive any payment. Over the next few years, he wrote several more novels in the same vein: light-hearted romantic adventures about imaginary characters. These had varied settings, from modern-day Europe to historical Scotland. Tranter also wrote several westerns under the pseudonym Nye Tredgold to provide additional income for his family, and a dozen children's books -adventure stories aimed at 8-10 year olds.
War service did not stop Tranter writing, and a number of novels were published during the war years, some inspired by his own experiences.
Between 1962 and 1971 Tranter published the landmark series The Fortified House in Scotland (in five volumes). This covered the history and structure of every castle and similar structure in Scotland, 663 buildings in all. Highly regarded at the time, it is still read by those who have an interest in this specialist area.
While researching the castles, Tranter realised that there were many characters and incidents in Scottish history which could be used as the basis for novels, which he tried to make as accurate as possible - while making no effort to hide his own strong Scottish identity. The Queen's Grace (1953) was his first novel to focus on an historical character (in this case, Mary, Queen of Scots), although it contained a high fictional content. Two trilogies followed: the MacGregor Trilogy (1957–1962) and the Master of Gray Trilogy (1961–1965). By this time, Tranter was well established as a writer of serious historical fiction. The fictional content decreased as he became more experienced, and his later novels were almost entirely composed around the historical record. These novels have gained a wide readership while providing a basic grounding in Scottish history to their readers.
Read more about this topic: Nigel Tranter
Famous quotes containing the word writings:
“In this part of the world it is considered a ground for complaint if a man’s writings admit of more than one interpretation.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Accursed who brings to light of day
The writings I have cast away.”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
“If someday I make a dictionary of definitions wanting single words to head them, a cherished entry will be “To abridge, expand, or otherwise alter or cause to be altered for the sake of belated improvement, one’s own writings in translation.””
—Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977)