Island of Wings

Author(s): Karin Altenberg

Location(s): St Kilda

Genre(s): Fiction, Historical

Era(s): 1830

Location

Content

1830. Neil and Lizzie MacKenzie, a newly married young couple, arrive at the remotest part of the British Isles: St Kilda. He is a minister determined to save the souls of the pagan inhabitants: his pregnant wife speaks no Gaelic and, when her husband is away, has only the waves and the cry of gulls for company.

As both find themselves tested to the limit in this harsh new environment, Lizzie soon discovers that marriage is as treacherous a country as the land that surrounds her.
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Book Reviews

Lead Review

‘This lovely, haunting novel evokes the rough beauty of St Kilda … A story of faith and love’ The Times.

Read review

Unexpectedly rich, atmospheric

A very cool, restrained book, this historical novel is set on St. Kilda, an island that is the furthest part of the British Isles. Beginning in 1830, the story follows Lizzie and her husband, missionary Rev. Neil MacKenzie, as...