Mine Is the Night_ A Novel - Liz Curtis Higgs [184]
Where better to turn for an epigraph than to the words of Sir Walter Scott? He was appointed Sheriff of Selkirkshire in 1799, drew from the ballads of the Borderland for his poems and novels, and was buried in Dryburgh Abbey, where Lord Jack escorted Elisabeth on horseback. Lovely, secluded Dryburgh is my favorite of the four Borderland abbeys, the others being Melrose, Kelso, and Jedburgh. The towns are so close together you can visit all four abbeys in one day and still have time for tea and scones.
In the twelfth century Selkirk had its own abbey until David I moved it to Kelso. A royal castle also came and went amid the fine hunting grounds of the Selkirk Forest, and James V confirmed the town’s royal burgh status in 1535. For those reasons and more, Selkirk seemed a fine setting for a novel based on the biblical story of Ruth, the great-grandmother of King David, royal ancestor to the King of kings.
Selkirk is a delicious town, not only because of its famous bannocks, stuffed with sweet currants, but also because of its quaint appearance. All the streets are narrow, hilly, and delightfully crooked, with bits of history tucked here and there. Halliwell’s Close boasts a fine regional museum, a plaque marks the spot where the Forest Inn once welcomed lodgers, and the old well still stands in the marketplace.
Stroll up Kirk Wynd, and you’ll find the remains of the old parish church on a rise where William Wallace—aye, Braveheart—was proclaimed Guardian of Scotland in 1298. My descriptions of the ruinous state of this auld kirk were not exaggerated. After several stones fell into the pews in 1747, the “venerable pile was leveled to the ground,” as one historian phrased it. The Selkirk congregation met at the nearby Grammar School while another church was erected on the same site in 1748. Our closing sketch by Scottish artist Simon Dawdry captures what remains of that church—the entrance gate and bell tower—plus a fine view of the surrounding hills.
Two maps of our triangular town plan guided me as I wrote: Walter Elliot’s recent map re-creating “The Royal Burgh of Selkirk 1714” and John Wood’s “Plan of the Town of Selkirk,” first printed in 1823. When I finished writing the novel, Benny Gillies of Kirkpatrick Durham in Galloway created our 1746 map. If you love books about Scotland as much as I do, visit www.BennyGillies.co.uk for a peek at the shelves of this fine man’s bookshop. That’s where I found Flower of the Forest—Selkirk: A New History, edited by John M. Gilbert, an invaluable resource that Benny insists is now “rare as hen’s teeth,” though it was published in 1985.
The Scottish Borders Council Archive Service at the Heritage Hub in Hawick also provided answers to questions about Reverend David Brown, a historical figure. Despite their best efforts we couldn’t pinpoint a location for the manse, so I placed it across from the church, a likely spot.
While doing on-site research I slept and dined at various spots round Selkirk, but the Garden House at Whitmuir near Bell Hill holds a special place in my heart. That is where I wrote the last dozen chapters of Mine Is the Night, nestled in a cozy room overlooking the garden. Robert made fresh porridge for me each morning, and Hilary delivered suppers to my room, helping me stay on task with my writing. I can still taste her mincemeat tarts, warm and fresh from the oven. Mmm. Heartfelt thanks to the Dunlops for their exceptional hospitality.
I am blessed to have given birth to an artist and seamstress, Lilly