Newport’s Story Retold

Mairi Shiels

More than 25 years ago Mairi Shiels and her friend Joan Mitchell began giving guided historical tours around Newport. To their delight, the pair discovered an enormous public interest in the Fife village’s heritage and their tours quickly proved very popular with locals.

Determined to preserve as much of this rich history as possible Mairi produced the small book Newport’s Story, in 1990.

In the years since she has learned a great deal more about the village – so much more that she decided to update the original in a new book, titled Newport’s Story Retold.

In this much more expansive work, Mairi traces Newport’s history from the development of the organised ferry service to Dundee. From there she goes on to discuss the Newport Railway and the construction and collapse of the Tay Bridge. Through a comprehensive overview of the types of work and leisure activities available to Newportonians over the years, Mairi shows us what typical village life was like at various points in history.

It is clear from the beginning that Newport is a place very dear to the writer’s heart. Mairi’s vividly descriptive language coupled with her thorough research brings the history of the village to life. This brilliant study would make a great introduction to Newport for anyone unfamiliar with the village’s history and is sure to bring back many happy memories for those who have lived through it.