Fair Maid tweet version launches Perth guide
Seen in the South Inch by Roben Antoniewicz A new book uses The Fair Maid of Perth, Sir Walter Scott’s historical best-seller, as a jumpoff point for a historical tour of Perth.
Tippermuir Books has just published ‘Perth, Scott’s Fair City: The Fair Maid of Perth and Sir Walter Scott - A Celebration and Guided Tour’ - and for those without the time to digest the original work, you can pick up the gist of the story via Twitter.
Headed by Paul Philippou, the Tippermuir Books team put together a Walter Scott Trail around Perth and wrote a small book. Award-winning local photographer Roben Antoniewicz has produced wonderful photographs for the book, which also includes incredible line drawings by another local man, geographer and author Rob Hands.
The book includes a topographical map of Perth drawn by Rob Hands which is a thing of beauty in itself.
Scott’s historical novel The Fair Maid of Perth was set in the late 14th century, unfolding against a background of feuding, between King Robert III and Scotland’s unruly nobility.
It follows the fortunes of a pair of lovers caught up in the long-standing conflict between two bellicose Highland clans, Clan Kay and Clan Chattan.
Now author Paul Philippou uses the work as a guide to the 21st century city, seen through the looking glass of the story.
At a time when people tweet, to mark the guide book’s launch and to familiarise today’s audience with the Scott novel, a synopsis of the book is being released all this week through tweets.
Paul Philippou explained how it came about: “A few years back, with some reluctance, I was persuaded to read Sir Walter Scott’s The Fair Maid of Perth. It’s quite a big tome, written in the early 19th century, and I just felt it would be a tiresome read.
“Nonetheless, I persisted and found myself captivated by Scott’s mastery of historical fiction and his ability to weave Paul Philippou’s Scott celebration tour together a romance set in Perthshire and well-known episodes in Scottish history. It struck a chord with me as a historian.”
The trouble is, while most people know of the book, not everyone has read it.
“So all this week a summary of the book is being released as a series of tweets. The ‘Tweet Edition’ comprises 43 tweets covering Scott’s 36 chapters.
The first three tweets are found below. The rest are available from @ TippermuirBooks #FMPTweetEdition.
*Tweet 1: On Valentine’s Eve begins our story of thirteenth century Scotland as told by Walter Scott, The Fair Maid of Perth, published 15th May 1828.
*Tweet 2: Perth with regal form of inch and steeple sits within the beauty of a county gabled by plain Lowland and rugged Highland. Here by Tay we begin.
*Tweet 3: Fair Maid Kate and father Simon Glover take friary mass where cloaked lord pesters dark-haired beauty to be his valentine. Denied, he angers.
“This year marks the 190th anniversary of the publication of The Fair Maid of Perth, so the timing is rather fitting,” said Paul of the unusual guide book to Perth.
“Matthew Mackie at Tippermuir Books and I began background work towards the organisation of a Walter Scott festival in Perth which would involve a ‘medieval’ pageant through Perth and a reenactment of the Battle of the Clans on the North Inch.
“Our research involved meeting with several medieval combat reenactment groups which was great fun, talking to actors and drama groups about staging scenes from the book around Perth.
“It would be great if with the publication of Scott’s Fair City and The Fair Maid of Perth tweet edition that Perth and Kinross Council or another body might see the merit in a Walter Scott Festival.”
Perth: Scott’s Fair City (£6.99 paperback) can be bought online, in bookshops, and directly from Tippermuir Books http:// tippermuirbooks.co.uk