Graeme Burnet: His Bloody Project

In 2013 I won a Scottish Book Trust New Writers Award and I am greatly indebted to this organisation for the fantastic support and encouragement they have given me during the writing of this book. I would also like to thank the always helpful staff of the Mitchell Library in Glasgow and the National Archive of Scotland in Edinburgh.

Despite all the help and advice I have received, I do not claim to be an expert either on the period in which this book is set or on the Highland way of life in general. This is a novel and as such I have taken some liberties with historical fact and, at some points, as novelists do, made stuff up. Needless to say, any inaccuracies, whether by design or error, are entirely my own responsibility.

I am deeply grateful to my publisher, Sara Hunt, for her wonderful enthusiasm, generosity and support throughout the writing of this book. Also to Craig Hillsley for his meticulous and sensitive editing.

On a personal note, this book would not have come into being were it not for the frequent visits I made to Wester Ross both in my childhood and as an adult, and for this gift I am hugely grateful to my parents, Gilmour and Primrose Burnet. I must also thank my great friend and sounding-board-in-chief, Victoria Evans, who is always generous with her time and whose notes are always pertinent and astute.

Finally, to Jen: thank you for your patience, encouragement and for putting up with my sulks. Like Una Macrae, you are the sunlight that nurtures the crops.