Dùn Aluinn
Dùn-Àluinn (1912) by Iain MacCormaic (1860–1947) was the first full-length novel in Scottish Gaelic literature.[1][2] It was first published as a weekly serial in The People's Journal from May to September 1910. The name is sometimes anglicised as Dunaline.
It was closely followed by Angus Robertson's An t-Ogha Mòr, which had actually been serialised prior to Dun Aluinn's publication, and so vies for the position of first novel.
MacCormaic, a native of Mull,[3]: 171 published in magazines sponsored by Ruaraidh Erskine.[3]: 174 Prior to the novel, he had published collections of short stories and a novella, Gu’n Tug i Spéis do’n Armunn, in 1908.[3]: 172
Plot summary
[edit]The novel is about the horror of the Highland Clearances, and the heir of a despotic landlord, Cailean Og, who is disinherited. The most interesting character is the Church of Scotland minister who gives a sermon about social rights. For a novel of its period, it is fairly cosmopolitan, and the action ranges to locations as exotic as gold mines in New Zealand.
Reception
[edit]After publication the novel was reviewed in The Oban Times and by An Comunn Gàidhealach. There were suggestions that the vocabulary used in the novel was local to Mull.[3]: 181
References
[edit]- ^ Renton, Ronald (May 2011). ""The Edinburgh Companion to the Gaelic Language" edited by Moray Watson and Michelle MacLeod". The Bottle Imp (9). Retrieved 29 November 2023.
- ^ Fiasson, Arnaud (2018). "The Role of the Scottish Renaissance in the (Re)construction of a Multilingual Identity Reverberating Internationally". Études écossaises. 20 (20). doi:10.4000/etudesecossaises.1396.
- ^ a b c d Kidd, Sheila (2006). "The forgotten first: John MacCormick's 'Dùn-Àluinn'" (PDF). Scottish Gaelic Studies (22). Retrieved 30 November 2023.
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