The book is finally back in print and available to buy. I am incredibly relieved that this vital piece of our history is accessible again thanks to the pressure we applied together. Please grab your copy and help keep this memory alive.
January 29, 2016
Final supporters
***14/01/16 Success! - the book is now available to buy direct from the publishers Birlinn - http://www.birlinn.co.uk/The-Lowland-Clearances-97...***
***17/12/15 Update! - it is now possible to preorder the title from Birlinn via Amazon - order your copies of the book today at http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Lowland-Clearances-Sco...***
Dear Birlinn
You have the rights to Peter Aitchison and Andrew Cassell's The Lowland Clearances - first published in 2003 and now listed as "out of stock" on your website.
It is possible to buy a new (2013) edition of Eric Richard's book on the Highland Clearances for £12.99. It is also published by you.
For some reason, you have been reluctant to re-print the book, let alone commission an updated version.
It is impossible to understand the Highland Clearances without knowing that they were preceded by the Lowland Clearances. The Clearances began in Galloway in 1724 when it took an entire regiment of soldiers 9 months to suppress an armed uprising against clearance.
So long as the Highland Clearances are seen as a unique and exceptional part of Scotland's history while the Lowland Clearances are passed over in silence, emotive myth rather than sober reality will prevail.
Please commission an updated version - we will buy it!
Yours,
The signatories.
About the book "The Lowland Clearances":
This revolution of 'improvement' helped shape the landscape we accept today as the Scottish countryside. But it also swept aside a traditional way of life, causing immense upheaval and trauma for rural dwellers, many of whom moved to the new towns and cities or emigrated. In the later eighteenth century the simple act of losing land and becoming landless was much more significant for large numbers of people in Lowland society than it was for those in the Gaelic- speaking Highlands of Scotland. The Lowland Clearances also set in train the trend of depopulation which continues to affect Scotland to this day; the number of people who left the Lowlands during the agricultural revolution far exceeded the number exiled from the Highlands. And yet, compared to the Highlands, very little has been written or published about the Lowland Clearances. This book, based on the highly acclaimed BBC documentary series, aims to redress that imbalance. It does not deny the clearances in the Highlands and Islands but reflects pioneering historical research which establishes them as part of a wider process of clearance which affected the whole of Scotland.
http://www.birlinn.co.uk/The-Lowland-Clearances-9781780270692.html
Updates
Reached 500 supporters
November 29, 2015
November 28, 2015
Seeing this kind of momentum confirms just how many of us believe the full truth of our history needs to be accessible again. It feels incredible to see so many people care about this gap in our understanding of the Lowland Clearances.
November 26, 2015
We are approaching five hundred signatures and those numbers are exactly what will get the publishers to recognize how much this history matters to us. Please put this out on your social media accounts now so we can reach that goal before the day is out.
Reached 100 supporters
November 23, 2015
November 21, 2015
We are approaching one hundred supporters and this momentum shows that people refuse to let this history stay buried. Please post this link to your social media pages right now so we can hit that mark before the end of the day.
205 Comments
Dear Sir /Madam, We had the authors of this book to give a lecture last weekend. Thoroughly enjoyed the presentation and now would like to buy the book. The children of today deserve to know their history. Many thanks Don Rowson
As the Librarian at Dalry Library I managed to get a copy for the Glenkens, but it's so in demand it's not available at the moment. I can request a second copy is bought, but not while it is out of print! Print more!
I am the co-author, and want to thank everyone who is doing this. Andy Cassell and I have tried to get the publishers to re issue, but they seem wholly uninterested. This shows there is demand ..so thank you all again very much indeed
As a descendant of Robert Guthrie of Kincardineshire who emigrated to Ireland in the late 1700s I would love to read about this to understand why they left Scotland. Please republish this book.
I learned about the trauma of the Highland Clearances in my Galloway primary school but similar events closer to home seem to have been forgotten. Campaigns like this one are important in helping make sure significant parts of our social history are fully remembered.
Wonderful stuff.
Yes on this book
Share Petition
Don't stop at signing, share the petition link with friends to multiply our impact
Copy link or share directly
The book is finally back in print and available to buy. I am incredibly relieved that this vital piece of our history is accessible again thanks to the pressure we applied together. Please grab your copy and help keep this memory alive.
January 29, 2016
Final supporters
***14/01/16 Success! - the book is now available to buy direct from the publishers Birlinn - http://www.birlinn.co.uk/The-Lowland-Clearances-97...***
***17/12/15 Update! - it is now possible to preorder the title from Birlinn via Amazon - order your copies of the book today at http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Lowland-Clearances-Sco...***
Dear Birlinn
You have the rights to Peter Aitchison and Andrew Cassell's The Lowland Clearances - first published in 2003 and now listed as "out of stock" on your website.
It is possible to buy a new (2013) edition of Eric Richard's book on the Highland Clearances for £12.99. It is also published by you.
For some reason, you have been reluctant to re-print the book, let alone commission an updated version.
It is impossible to understand the Highland Clearances without knowing that they were preceded by the Lowland Clearances. The Clearances began in Galloway in 1724 when it took an entire regiment of soldiers 9 months to suppress an armed uprising against clearance.
So long as the Highland Clearances are seen as a unique and exceptional part of Scotland's history while the Lowland Clearances are passed over in silence, emotive myth rather than sober reality will prevail.
Please commission an updated version - we will buy it!
Yours,
The signatories.
About the book "The Lowland Clearances":
This revolution of 'improvement' helped shape the landscape we accept today as the Scottish countryside. But it also swept aside a traditional way of life, causing immense upheaval and trauma for rural dwellers, many of whom moved to the new towns and cities or emigrated. In the later eighteenth century the simple act of losing land and becoming landless was much more significant for large numbers of people in Lowland society than it was for those in the Gaelic- speaking Highlands of Scotland. The Lowland Clearances also set in train the trend of depopulation which continues to affect Scotland to this day; the number of people who left the Lowlands during the agricultural revolution far exceeded the number exiled from the Highlands. And yet, compared to the Highlands, very little has been written or published about the Lowland Clearances. This book, based on the highly acclaimed BBC documentary series, aims to redress that imbalance. It does not deny the clearances in the Highlands and Islands but reflects pioneering historical research which establishes them as part of a wider process of clearance which affected the whole of Scotland.
http://www.birlinn.co.uk/The-Lowland-Clearances-9781780270692.html
Updates
Reached 500 supporters
November 29, 2015
November 28, 2015
Seeing this kind of momentum confirms just how many of us believe the full truth of our history needs to be accessible again. It feels incredible to see so many people care about this gap in our understanding of the Lowland Clearances.
November 26, 2015
We are approaching five hundred signatures and those numbers are exactly what will get the publishers to recognize how much this history matters to us. Please put this out on your social media accounts now so we can reach that goal before the day is out.
Reached 100 supporters
November 23, 2015
November 21, 2015
We are approaching one hundred supporters and this momentum shows that people refuse to let this history stay buried. Please post this link to your social media pages right now so we can hit that mark before the end of the day.
205 Comments
Have read a copy borrowed from a friend and it's an excellent read on an aspect of Scottish history we should all be more aware of. Was shocked to see the cost of secondhand copies online and I believe there's a long waiting list for the book at local libraries. Therefore it's essential that it's republished.
Dear Sir /Madam, We had the authors of this book to give a lecture last weekend. Thoroughly enjoyed the presentation and now would like to buy the book. The children of today deserve to know their history. Many thanks Don Rowson
As the Librarian at Dalry Library I managed to get a copy for the Glenkens, but it's so in demand it's not available at the moment. I can request a second copy is bought, but not while it is out of print! Print more!
I am the co-author, and want to thank everyone who is doing this. Andy Cassell and I have tried to get the publishers to re issue, but they seem wholly uninterested. This shows there is demand ..so thank you all again very much indeed
As a descendant of Robert Guthrie of Kincardineshire who emigrated to Ireland in the late 1700s I would love to read about this to understand why they left Scotland. Please republish this book.
I learned about the trauma of the Highland Clearances in my Galloway primary school but similar events closer to home seem to have been forgotten. Campaigns like this one are important in helping make sure significant parts of our social history are fully remembered.
Wonderful stuff.
Yes on this book
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Have read a copy borrowed from a friend and it's an excellent read on an aspect of Scottish history we should all be more aware of. Was shocked to see the cost of secondhand copies online and I believe there's a long waiting list for the book at local libraries. Therefore it's essential that it's republished.