Unicorn Challenge Details

[Ellen]

Read as many of these 10 Scottish themes prompts in 2020

1. A unicorn story or illustration
2. A story set in Edinburgh
3. An author with a Scottish name (e.g. Hamish, Lewis, Dundee)
4. A book with tartan on the cover
5. A story set in medieval Scotland
6. A poem written in Scots language or dialect
7. A story with Jacobites
8. A book with Saltire colours (blue and white) on the cover
9. A Scots biography or autobiography book
10. A Scottish ghost story

[Ellen]

Unicorns are Scotland’s National Animal and are quite hard to spot, so I thought they’d be fitting for this new fun wee challenge!

The Unicorn Challenge is where you have to tick off as many items on the list as you can in the year 2020. It’s much more informal than the main Read Scotland challenges: so you can google a real life Scottish ghost story or even read a Robert Burns poem off a tea towel to get your points! Poems, short stories, recipe books, picture books, and even non-Scottish books with a random unicorn on the cover count. I’ve made the list quite short and hope you get creative with it!

If you are so inclined, you can name your challenge with your perfect unicorn name. I’m going for Rainbow Glitter Guffs as my unicorn of choice, I can’t wait to meet yours!

So just to clarify the rules:
1. Must be read in 2020
2. Does not have to be a book/novel - just the poem/story/text
3. This challenge does not have to be a Scottish book or author
4. You don’t have to do any other Read Scotland Challenge or group reads
5. I know Rule Number 3 is scandalous

[Faith]

I am in!!! so excited!

[Faith]

can the story set in Edinburgh be listed as a book for the Read Scotland challenge also?

[Yana]

I was hoping if I join the challenge I’ll find all the recommendations here haha well I have to go researching now

[Faith]

Ah, Yana... I am sure I can think up some recommendations for you!

[Elliot]

Here are some recommendations, though I don't know if they would appeal to everyone considering my taste in books,

3. An author with a Scottish name (e.g. Hamish, Lewis, Dundee)
- Fitzroy Maclean
- I suppose Walter Scott is a Scottish name?

4. A book with tartan on the cover
- How the Scots Invented the Modern World, which is a very detailed look at some of Scotland's history from circa 1500-1900. Not for the casual reader, I would say.
- This edition of Redgauntlet by Walter Scott

5. A story set in medieval Scotland
- The Fair Maid of Perth by Walter Scott. I thought this book was decent, and it's set in the late middle ages/early Renaissance.
- The Scottish Chiefs by Jane Porter. This is quite a long and old novel, about William Wallace and his time. I haven't read it, though I have a very old copy of it that I acquired from a used bookstore.
- I think there are several historical fiction novels about Robert the Bruce, but I don't know any of them by name.

6. A poem written in Scots language or dialect
- Walter Scott has many (lengthy) poems in Scots.

7. A story with Jacobites
- I can't say I know of any historical fiction including the Jacobites, though there is plenty of interesting non-fiction about them. A memoir of a Jacobite's experience during the '45 is A Memoir of the 'Forty-Five by James Johnstone if that counts.

9. A Scots biography or autobiography book
- I've come across a number of biographies of various Scottish people, but most of them are military-history related so I'm not sure how many people would be interested in them.

Edit. I didn't realize how many times I put Walter Scott on this. I would caution modern readers before reading his works because they are very much written for an audience from a different time.

[Faith]

Ooo, I love these!
(I love Sir Walter Scott; I am part of that audience from a different time ☺️)

[Faith]

@Yana
I am afraid I can't reccommend anything better than this list. :(
I myself am looking for recommendations. I'm sorry :)

[Faith]

I do know of a book about the Jacobites, though!
It is called A Jacobite Exile by G. A. Henty.
It is military-history, but does have a very nice thread of fiction throughout. I really enjoyed it.

[Ellen]

Faith wrote: "can the story set in Edinburgh be listed as a book for the Read Scotland challenge also?"

Yes it can Faith :)

[Jack]

There are loads of historical fiction novels about the Jacobites - or at least their times.
Scott's Waverley for a start, D K Broster's Jacobite trilogy (starting with The Flight of the Heron,) Flemington and Tales of Angus by Violet Jacob; Naomi Mitchison's The Bull Calves is set in the aftermath of Bonnie Prince Charlie's rebellion - as is RL Stevenson's Kidnapped, and Neil Munro's The New Road is set just before 1745. There are many more.
Recently Diana Gabaldon's Outlander books have also ploughed that furrow.

[Lorna]

This looks like fun! I'm in.