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Scotland - Ian Rankin and Alasdair Gray

Andrew Marr explores what it means to be Scottish with his guests, crime author Ian Rankin, artist Alasdair Gray, theatre critic Joyce McMillan and TM Devine.

On Start the Week Andrew Marr explores what it means to be Scottish. The streets and history of Edinburgh come alive in Ian Rankin's crime novels, while the Glaswegian writer and artist Alasdair Gray marries elements of realism, fantasy and science fiction in his work. With a long history of Scottish emigration, T M Devine looks at the impact on the nation left behind. And the theatre critic of The Scotsman, Joyce McMillan, believes that despite the coming Referendum on Independence, it's the arts and not politics that define Scottish-ness.

Producer: Katy Hickman.

Image © Alasdair Gray, A Life in Pictures, Canongate Books.

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43 minutes

Last on

Mon 10 Dec 2012 21:30

Ian Rankin

Ian Rankin is a crime writer.

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Standing in Another Man’s Grave is published by Orion.

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Alasdair Gray

Alasdair Gray is a writer and artist.

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Every Short Story 1951-2012 is published by Canongate.

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Joyce McMillan

Joyce McMillan is a theatre critic and columnist for The Scotsman.

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T M Devine

Tom Devine is Senior Research Professor in History at the University of Edinburgh.

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To the Ends of the Earth: Scotland’s Global Diaspora, 1750-2010 is published by Penguin.

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Broadcasts

  • Mon 10 Dec 2012 09:00
  • Mon 10 Dec 2012 21:30

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