Why a Booktrail?
1918, 1930s, 2017: Inspired by a true story of a war time story of despair and hope
The Christmas Secret
What you need to know before your trail
Behind London’s most powerful leaders, there’s Alex Hyde, business coach par excellence. She’s the woman everyone turns to when the pressure gets too much. So when Alex gets a call offering an unbelievable sum to discreetly manage a family member on the board of an esteemed Scottish whisky company, it’s an easy job. Well, it should be.
But , she’s never met anyone like Lochlan Farqhuar before. CEO of Kentallen Distilleries, he’s also the son and heir of the company’s founder, and a man for whom there is no “no.”
Locations
Reset- Scotland - Inner Hebrides - Isle of Islay
- A: Kilnaughton Bay
- B: Carraig Fhada Lighthouse
- C: Port Ellen
- D: Port Charlotte - The Museum of Islay Life
Travel Guide
VISIT ISLAY
Kilnaughton Bay
The wonderful Scottish setting and where the book opens. The story starts in 1932 when “the first time he escapes death was out there, in those treacherous waters that stretched from here to the coast of Ireland”
The Highlands and Islands part of Scotland are the centre of the story. The Whisky Distillery, the hunting, fishing and farming landscapes. The hunting as a sport and a way of life
Port Ellen
The home of Kentalen Whisky was set just back from a small, deeply curved bay just outside the port. In front of it, the grey North Channel still swelled with suppressed menace but within the encircling embrace of the bay’s arms, the water was millpond calm and so clear, that even from this distance, Alex could see stray throngs of seaweed lilting tin the pale water”
This is the island where homes are squat tall, old crofter’s cottages, with thatched roofs and bumpy walls. This is rural Scotland at its most raw.
Author note:
This book was inspired by the true life story of the SS Tuscania disaster, when two local farmers rescued soldiers from the cliffs and the bay and brought them to the safety of their homes. They were awarded OBEs for their war efforts. One of their sisters even spent the whole night churning butter in order to feed the survivors. Documents relating to this time can still be found in the island’s museum.
Booktrail Boarding Pass: The Christmas Secret
Destination: Isle of Islay Author/Guide: Kate Furnivall Departure Time: 1918, 1930s, 2017
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