I usually only do two #ThreeTwoOne features each week but I’m bringing you a bonus one this week for a book which is a collaboration between author Rae Cowie and photographer Susan Orr: Haddo Reimagined. It is inspired by Haddo Country Park which I’m not sure if I have ever been to. Next time I’m in that area, I will be sure to visit.
Tell me THREE things about your latest book
Haddo Reimagined is a collection of nine new short stories inspired by fabulous photographs of the ancient Scottish estate of Haddo Country Park, Aberdeenshire.
Inspiration for the project began when I discovered a beautiful book entitled, The Group of Seven Reimagined: Contemporary stories inspired by historic Canadian paintings. The Group of Seven landscape artists first met in Toronto between 1911 and 1913. The group included Lawren Harris, J. E.H. MacDonald, Arthur Lismer, Franz Johnston, A.Y Jackson, Frederick Varley, and Franklin Carmichael, who hiked and canoed for weeks at a time, exploring the remote rugged north, to sketch and paint the wilds of Canada in a modernist way. Then in 2019, twenty-one writers from across Canada, the US, the UK and Australia, came together and looked again at the Group of Seven’s extraordinary artistic legacy, each creating a work of short fiction in response to the landscape artwork. The Group of Seven Reimagined is a book I treasure, and it made me think how fantastic it would be to do something similar, focusing on the beauty of Scotland.
Two of the stories are written in what I describe as Doric ‘light’. I was brought up speaking Doric, the traditional language of NE Scotland, and was delighted to have the opportunity to include it in my writing. I’ve restricted the Doric to dialogue and included a Doric glossary, so the pieces are still easily understood by non-Doric speakers too.  Â
Tell me about TWO of the characters in your book
The story I’m proudest of in the collection is Butterbur, which imagines the terrifying moment when a bailiff knocks on Marioun Grant’s cottage door, accusing her of witchcraft. Marioun Grant was a widow, who lived in Auchedlie near Haddo, and on 15th April 1597 was found guilty of witchcraft at the Tolbooth in Aberdeen.
She appears to have confessed to entering a pact with the devil and practising healing rituals. However, women like Marioun were subjected to horrendous forms of torture, and records tell us that she had no defence. Sadly, her punishment for her supposed crimes was to be taken to a hill and executed.
Marioun’s story is far from unique and an interactive map, designed by the University of Edinburgh, available to view online, shows that many (mostly women) in NE Scotland, suffered similar fates.
It felt important in my re-telling, when Marioun is surrounded by brutal men baying for her arrest, that she still has a voice, and in one final twist might even bring down the bailiff.
On a lighter note, my favourite character to write was Damsel, who features in a specially written fairy tale, We Could Never Find A Better Home than Haddo, inspired by the beautiful snowy cover image of the Doolies. The Doolies is an area of meadowland in Haddo Country Park, where fairy folk are said to live.
One evening, as shadows are drawing in, Damsel sets off with ripe rowan berries for Granny but on the way finds an injured heron. Haddo Estate is very protective of its herons because legend has it that Thomas the Rhymer cursed the neighbouring castle of Gight (ancestral home of the poet, Lord Byron).
The curse went like this, ‘If the herons leave the tree, then the land will lie in lea’, meaning the land will become barren. Shortly after this frightening prediction, three men died in mysterious circumstances at Gight, and the herons who nested there soon left, flying to roost at Haddo. Gight castle and its lands were quickly abandoned.
Back to our heroine – Tiny fairy, Damsel, must ensure the same fate doesn’t befall Haddo!
Tell me ONE good reason why people should read your book!
Haddo Reimagined was inspired by a remarkable place, so why not sit awhile with interesting photographs and a selection of stories, allowing Haddo to work its magic.
FULL BOOK DETAILS
Haddo Reimagined is an exciting collaboration between photographer, Susan Orr and award-winning fiction writer, Rae Cowie, inspired by the beauty and uniqueness of Haddo Country Park, Aberdeenshire. Discover the vivid history, rich natural world, and fascinating landmarks which make this ancient Scottish estate so enchanting.
Which woman was accused of witchcraft near Haddo’s lands?
What drew renowned Shakespearean actor, John Philip Kemble, from the glamour of Regency London to the remote wilds of northeast Scotland?
Why is it important that herons continue to make Haddo Country Park their home?
Find answers to these questions and more in Haddo Reimagined. Enjoy the striking landscape photography of Susan Orr, and nine new short stories imagined by author Rae Cowie.
AVAILABLE TO BUY FROM ALL USUAL BOOK SELLERS INCLUDING:
AMAZON UK …
Waterstones …
https://www.waterstones.com/book/haddo-reimagined/rae-cowie/susan-orr/9781738469901
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rae Cowie was born and grew up in NE Scotland and loves hiking across empty beaches, with wind whipping her hair. In 2022, she was granted a SCOTTISH BOOK TRUST NEW WRITERS’ AWARD, enabling her to complete a second flash fiction collection entitled, Without Dreams and Phantoms Women Cannot Exist, currently on submission to agents. In 2015, she won the prestigious ROMANTIC NOVELISTS’ FIRST CHAPTER AWARD. A lifelong lover of big cats, she was delighted when THE FIGHT OF THE WYLD CATTIS was included in the Great Scottish Canvas, issued to delegates attending the UN Climate Conference in Glasgow.
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS
Author website: www.raecowie.com
Photographer website: www.susanorrart.com
Haddo Reimagined Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61564098760775
