Customer Reviews

Canna: The Story of a Hebridean Island

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There are few books about this small Hebridean island, but J.L. Campbell has written a fully detailed book, giving the history of the people who lived on Canna as far back as the 13th century. As well, he explains their leaving and where they landed in America.

I visited Canna twice in 2003 during a one week sailing trip on a classical ship with the name Edda Frandsen. We also sailed close to Rum and Eigg and visited several of the outer islands. I have dear memories of the loneliness of the environment and I have been reading about its history ever since.
John Lorne Campbell owned Canna before he donated it to the National Trust for Scotland. I like the idea of now knowing the persons living in the manor house that is so visible from the harbour. The manor house owned most of the penny lands. These are small farms stocked with seven cows and two horses. The arable land was fertilized by carrying seaweed onto it. Most inhabitants lived at subsistence level. The people in the manor house usually were the only ones on the island who were literate. This is a well written and complete history starting 4000 BC and carrying us through Columba, the Vikings and Culloden into modern times. Like the other islands and mainland Scotland, people lived in a social system called servitude until very recently. Their life at subsistence level became unacceptable in modern times and many inhabitants emigrated from the overpopulated island. There is a high degree of personal involvement from the writer who clearly loves his island and its Gaelic culture. It is a very good book.