The region is Scotland in microcosm. It contains an early Celtic capital in Dumbarton, the preferred place and death-site of Robert the Bruce in Cardross, the birthplace of Tobias Smollett, key cradles of the Industrial Revolution and the home of the winners of the earliest World Cup. Through the prism of the region the development of the nation — and its social and political economy as a whole — can be seen in a very particular light.
This book is a new kind of history, developing the way in which Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie and the Annalistes used local records in such classic texts as Montaillou to examine national events and movements through details of local life. Here, however, the scale is different. Rather than the miniaturisation of Montaillou, we will have the range and scope possible in a larger region, yet still compact enough to individualise large movements while showing their effect on substantial communities.
Ian brown is a freelance scholar and arts and education consultant. Founding Editor of the International Journal of Scottish Theatre, he is a playwright and poet, with over twenty plays produced throughout the UK and abroad. He is General Editor of The Edinburgh History of Scottish Literature.
Councillor Denis Agnew, the council's Convenor of Education and Cultural Services said: "This has been such an exciting project to have been involved with. We are the first local authority in Britain to have created an area wide book. It is the story of three distinct, but related, and interconnected, communities. It tells of the area's rich past, but also how to prepare for its promising future."
Changing Identities Ancient Roots is on sale in all branches of West Dunbartonshire Liraries priced £19.95 for the hardback edition, and £9.95 for the paperback edition.
