St Kildans also shared a particular Hebridean spirituality, a deep faith inspired perhaps by a constant exposure to the numinous elements of nature’s beauty and power and solitude, a spirituality braided with the early Catholicism of the first monk missionaries, and also with Calvinsim and the later sweeping revivals in Harris and Lewis. The author’s gradual revelations of the events which led up to this momentous event very effectively captured the islanders’ sense of despair about the loss of their unique way of life, which however unsustainable it had by then become, had nurtured them for generations and was all they knew. Hired as their cook, she can't believe they would ever notice her, sophisticated and educated as they are. I think if there had been more focus on the war and history and less on the romance it would've been superb. I have witnessed similar bonds between minority language speakers even when they speak different languages.

Book Review: The Lost Lights of St Kilda by Elisabeth Gifford Book Review: The Lost Lights of St Kilda by Elisabeth Gifford

As a linguist, and lover of minority languages (I studied Irish for more than 5 years), I found this scene very possible.

Kilda and its inhabitants tell of harsh life on an unforgiving land where tragedy struck so many families but also of a community that looked after their other.

The Lost Lights of St Kilda: *SHORTLISTED FOR THE RNA

It was inhabited from Neolithic times until 1930, although how and why it was settled I cannot imagine. All I knew was I was ready to travel the length and breadth of France if the world would give me one more chance to spend one more hour with you – to say I’m sorry.It was my mother who first taught me to play, my hands on hers, walking me over tunes she brought back from the island. Fred Lawson had gone to the Island in 1927 with the Laird's son Archie MacLeod where he has a summer job and meets Chrissie a young Islander, where friendship soon turns to a much deeper relationship.

The Lost Lights of St Kilda by Elisabeth Gifford | Waterstones

I would like to thank netgalley Atlantic books corvus for the opportunity to have read the lost lights of St. This is the first of Elisabeth Gifford’s books I’ve read but with writing of this quality, and her ability to create such unforgettable characters, I now want to read some of her earlier novels. What can you tell us about your first memories of discovering that St Kilda existed and then finding out more about the islands?

She’s a plucky young girl when we meet her and her narrative describes among other things her fondness for the laird’s son. To think that for many, many years people could live on this breathtaking island with all of its restrictions and beauty.