Hame

With her young daughter in tow, Mhairi McPhail flees her crumbling marriage in New York and accepts an assignment on the remote Hebridean island of Fascaray, where her grandfather was born. There, she will set up a museum in honor of the island’s celebrated poet, Grigor McWatt, and write his biography. As Mhairi struggles to adapt to island life and put her troubles behind her, she begins to unearth the astonishing secret history of the poet, who has long been regarded by many as the custodian of Fascaray’s—and Scotland’s—soul. Hame builds an intricate world around the life and work of McWatt, weaving the poet’s own writing, extracts from Mhairi’s journal, and tales of Fascaray itself into an extraordinary story of identity, love, belonging and the universal quest for home.

Annalena McAfee was born in London to a Scottish mother and Glasgow-Irish father, and was educated at Essex University. She is the author of The Spoiler and eight children’s books. McAfee worked in newspapers for more than three decades. She was arts and literary editor of the Financial Times and founded the Guardian Review, which she edited for six years. McAfee lives in London with her hus­band, the writer Ian McEwan.

www.annalenamcafee.com