Two British travellers, Donald Kemp and Margaret Duncan, have disappeared in the wild mountainous region of northern Afghanistan; a terrain into which western Europeans seldom penetrate. The authorities in Kabul say that they have been murdered by the inhabitants of a small and primitive village and that retribution has already been exacted in the form of wholesale reprisals. John McLeod, a friend of the missing couple who has spent some years in Afghanistan as a diplomat, is deeply suspicious of these explanations. He returns to Kabul and starts his own enquiries, but everywhere he is met with obstruction and evasion, though McLeod is deterred neither by the devious courtesies of local officials nor by the discreet negations of his own embassy. The quest becomes an obsession in which physical pursuit is linked with a personal desire to discover the truth of Donald and Margaret's whole strange relationship.

Poor Angus centres round a struggling painter, Angus McAllister, who has returned to the seemingly idyllic Hebridean island of his birth in the hope that it will inspire him to create his masterpiece. His privacy is invaded by Janet, a visitor with relatives on the island, who has decided that an affair with an artist would be the simplest way to incense and recapture her husband, a golf-fanatic devoid of imagination.So begins an irresistible story, both comic and serious which, with characteristic ironic wit explores the attitudes of men and women to sex and relationships in general, and which focuses on the psychology of the artist and the justification, if any, for art.

Robin Jenkins returned to the Far East in the 1950s for "Leila", a tender love story involving a Scottish teacher, Andrew Sandilands, and Leila, the exotically beautiful daughter of a local politician. Leila is, like her father, implicated in the revolutionary tremors shaking the small country and the lovers are soon torn between the small-minded mores of the expatriate community and Leila's determined efforts to play a role in her country's future. The masked oppression of the regime forms the backdrop to a novel where personal dramas collide with the legacies of colonialism.

'Worthy of the greatest respect throughout the English-language world' - Paul Binding, Guardian 'Pared down to a sharp clarity, the prose of this novel cuts out all excess to show the cross-currents running through the heart of a community' - Times Literary Supplement 'Breathtaking in its simple beauty and honest heart' - Doug Johnstone, The Big Issue (Scotland) 'Jenkins is a remarkable writer whose gentlest touch induces the greatest of pleasures' - The Times When a family of travelling pearl-fishers arrives in a small Scottish town, the inhabitants react in their own different ways, from warmth to outright rejection. But how will they respond when love seems to blossom between local man Gavin Hamilton and the beautiful pearl-fisher Effie? The Pearl-fishers is a classic love story and the master storyteller's last novel.|Worthy of the greatest respect throughout the English-language world' - Paul Binding, Guardian 'Pared down to a sharp clarity, the prose of this novel cuts out...

With an introduction by Andrew Marr. ‘If you are interested in books that are human and wise, then treat yourself this year to some Robin Jenkins.’ Andrew Marr Thirteen-year-old Tom Curdie, the product of a Glasgow slum, is on probation for theft. His teachers admit that he is clever, but only one, Charles Forbes, sees an uncanny warmth in his reticence and in his seemingly insolent smile. So he decides to take Tom on holiday with his own family... On first publication in 1958, The Changeling confirmed the reputation of an author who had long been regarded by his peers as a major force in British writing, and it is now held up as a classic of British literature. ‘One of the best, most completely realised of Jenkins’ novels.’ Alan Spence ‘Quite simply a major writer.’ Herald ‘A delight to read.’ Times Literary Supplement

Introduced by Margery Palmer McCulloch. In writing Just Duffy, a novel set amidst the urban decay of Lanarkshire, Robin Jenkins has created a modern-day Confession of a Justified Sinner. Convinced of his own rectitude, appalled at the moral squalor around him, Duffy declares war on society. Ridiculous, yet horrifying at the same time, his campaign builds to a terrifying conclusion. Beset with ambiguity, Duffy is a ferocious indictment of Calvinistic moral certainty, of a struggle for good which results in only evil and destruction. The deeply ironic title bears witness to the mismatch of Duffy’s aspiration against his own insignificance. The themes of this novel are central to all Jenkins’ work. In its stark simplicity Just Duffy lays claim to being one of his most significant and powerful novels. Its inexorable drive and power bear witness to a modern Greek tragedy played out on a Scottish stage. ‘Challenging and absorbing . . . a powerful and mordant irony.’ Scotsman ‘Stark and...

The daughter of Lord Carnegie of Kinnaird, Lady Magdalen shares with her childhood friend, Francis Gowrie of Mintlaw, a love of art and beauty, and a horror of barbaric practices. But, with civil war brewing and family alliances paramount, Carnegie arranges her marriage to an ambitious young soldier, James Graham, the future Marquis of Montrose.This is a captivating novel, which juxtaposes the feminine and domestic with the political and military ramifications of the era. Lady Magdalen is effortlessly readable and a powerful evocation of seventeenth century Scotland.

'As a story-teller, Jenkins has few equals' - Tribune 'Jenkins is quite simply a major contemporary writer' - The Herald Abdul Wahab, an Afghan science teacher, is eagerly anticipating the arrival of his British fiancee, Laura Johnstone, in the capital of his home country. Having met while Abdul was a student at Manchester University, the couple are eager to settle down in Isban. However, Abdul is not the only one interested in Miss Johnstone's arrival. Prince Naim, one of the sons of the king, sees the marriage as a symbol of a successful union between East and West, and in his hurry to cement this union, promotes Abdul into a position of power he is far from ready for. Meanwhile, the employees at The British Embassy are in turmoil at this new arrival and all the disaster they are sure this mixed marriage will bring.|As a story-teller, Jenkins has few equals' - Tribune 'Jenkins is quite simply a major contemporary writer' - The Herald Abdul Wahab, an Afghan science teacher, is...

Introduced by Bob Tait. ‘Half Scotland sniggered and the other half scowled, when in letters to the Scotsman and the Glasgow Herald, I put forward my suggestion that prisoners in Scottish jails be allowed to wear their kilts as their national birthright if such be their wish.’ From his origins as an illegitimate child in the slums of Glasgow, Fergus Lamont sets out to reclaim his inheritance and to remake his identity as soldier, poet and would-be aristocrat. Covering the years from the turn of the century to the Second World War, Fergus’s unforgettable voice recounts a tale of vanity, success and betrayal which shines its own sardonic light on Scotland and the cultural and political issues of the day. At odds with his origins and unsettled in his aristocratic pretensions, Fergus Lamont reaches middle age before he is offered at least the hope of redemption in a love affair with an island woman. How it turns out and what he learns too late, adds a tragic dimension to the scathing...

Satirical and yet compassionate, Childish Things begins with a funeral at which Gregor McLeod, a retired school-master aged 72, is mourning the death of his wife Kate. It soon becomes evident, however, that McLeod has been something of a womaniser and, despite his very recent (and heartfelt) bereavement, is being pursued by an assortment of attractive women. Jenkins proceeds to explore McLeod's adventurous escapades with these ladies both at home and abroad. The result is a tremendously compelling comic novel which retains all the sharpness, wit and pace that is customary from Jenkins, combined with a mellow, wry wisdom that never fails to entertain. His central theme, do we ever outgrow 'childish things'?, is explored with captivating insight and delicious humour. This is a gloriously readable novel from a consummate storyteller.

‘The best-kept secret in modern British literature.’ Andrew Marr A haunting story of violence and love. Calum and Neil are the cone-gatherers â€" two brothers at work in the forest of a large Scottish estate. But the harmony of their life together is shadowed by the obsessive hatred of Duror, the gamekeeper. Set during the Second World War, Robin Jenkins’ greatest novel is an immensely powerful examination of good and evil, and mankind’s propensity for both. Removed from the destruction and bloodshed of the war, the brothers’ oblivious happiness becomes increasingly fragile as darker forces close in around them. Suspenseful, dark and unforgettable, The Cone-Gatherers is a towering work of fiction, a masterpiece of modern Scottish literature. ‘Let me alert everyone to the best-kept secret in modern British literature. If you love the novel; if you are interested in books that are humane and wise, not slick and cynical; then treat yourself this...