The People's City

“Five engrossing, resonant stories” set in Edinburgh, written for this collection by Ian Rankin, Alexander McCall Smith, Sara Sheridan, and more(The Herald).

Edinburgh is steeped in literary history. It’s the birthplace of a beloved cast of fictional characters from Sherlock Holmes to Harry Potter, and the home of the Writer’s Museum, where quotes from writers of the past pave the steps leading up to the entrance. The Scottish capital is a city whose beauty is matched only by the intrigue of its past, and where Robert Louis Stevenson said “there are no stars so lovely as Edinburgh’s street-lamps.” Polygon Books and the charitable organization One City Trust have brought together writers—established and emerging—to write about the place they call home. Based around landmarks or significant links to Edinburgh, from the Royal Botanic Garden to the gritty Old Town streets, each story transports us to a different decade in the city’s recent past. Through these compelling tales, each author reflects on the changes, both generational and physical, in the word’s first UNESCO city of literature.

“An atmospheric anthology . . . Each story is vibrant and layered with detail.” —Scottish Field