Lillian Beckwith (25 April 1916 – 3 January 2004), real name Lillian Comber, was an English writer best known for her series of semi-autobiographical books set on the Inner Hebrides.
Born Lilian Lloyd in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, she married Edward Comber in 1937, and in 1942 she moved with him to Elgol, Isle of Skye, under doctor's orders for a rest. Moving to the nearby and smaller Isle of Soay, she eventually bought and ran her own croft. Her life on the island provided the basis for seven books published between 1959 and 1978, although allegedly, some of her neighbours later felt that the somewhat comical characters on Beckwith's fictional island of Bruach were too close to real persons, causing Beckwith to become something of a persona non grata in her former home. She moved to the Isle of Man in 1962 and died on 3 January 2004 aged 87.
Bibliography
Skye series
1959 - The Hills is Lonely — Chapter 1, Review 1961 - The Sea for Breakfast — Chapter 1 1964 - The Loud Halo Chapter 1 (The above titles were published collectively in A Hebridean Omnibus, 1987)
1968 - A Rope - In Case — Chapter 1 Available in book form, first published by Hutchinson (London) with later reprints and illustrated by Douglas Hall 1973 - Lightly Poached — Chapter 1 1976 - Beautiful Just! — Chapter 1 (The above titles were published collectively in A Second Hebridean Omnibus, 1991)
1978 - Bruach Blend — Chapter 1, Review All were illustrated by Douglas Hall.
All are also available as audiobooks narrated by Hannah Gordon.
Beckwith also wrote a book entitled About my Father's Business (1971), about her childhood in her father's grocery shop.
Novels 1967 - Green Hand 1974 - The Spuddy (Illustrated by Victor Ambrus) 1984 - A Shine of Rainbows — Chapter 1 (adapted into a film- A Shine of Rainbows). 1986 - A Proper Woman 1989 - The Small Party 1992 - An Island Apart — Chapter 1, (audiobook narrated by Vivien HeilbronBBC Audiobooks America ) 2002 - A Breath of Autumn — Chapter 1
A collection of short stories :
1988 Bay of Strangers — Title story
And a cookery book :
1976 Hebridean Cook Book
References
External links The Bruach books of Lillian Beckwith Hebridean Comedies Obituary Lillian Beckwith on fantasticfiction.com