Why a Booktrail?
2000s:Mirror Mirror on the wall, which house is the spookiest of them all?
The House of Spines
What you need to know before your trail
Ran McGhie is a young, lonely and frustrated writer, and suffering from mental-health problems. His life is slowly going down hill and things get stranger still when he finds out that his long-dead mother was related to one of Glasgow’s oldest merchant families. This is something he had never heard about before and it freaks him out to think of a past he knows nothing about.
The mystery deepens when Ran discovers that he has inherited Newton Hall, a vast mansion that belonged to his Great-Uncle Fitzpatrick. This great -uncle of his appears to be some kind of enigma and he appears to have been watching from afar as his estranged great-nephew has grown up.
This new home however is not just a large gothic house but a temple to the written word – the perfect place for poet Ran. He starts to explore the Hall’s endless corridors, the old fashioned style lifts with a metal door, ornate mirrors
And in one of those mirrors a reflection appears…only it’s not his..but that of a woman…
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Glasgow
Imagine owning one of the grand gothic houses in the posh end of town? Take a look at St VincentStreet and imagine stepping inside yourself:
“The hall was the size of a tennis court. And in the middle sat a large, oval, marble-topped table, bearing a vase of white lillies. The walls were tiber panelled for three -quarters of their height and the same wood had been pus to construct a large, ornate fireplace on the far wall, a pillar at the stairs and the bannister. The huge space seemed oddly dim and gloomy to Ranald, despite the light streaming through the massive windows”
There is a large reception room, a smoking room and a large impressive library which is at the centre of the house and the crux of the story:
“Either side of the window there were bookcases full of leather bound volumes and despite the size of the window there was little light getting into the room” Ranald feels awkward at the grandeur of the room and of the house. It’s imposing, towers over him and encloses him in its mysteries and dark corners. One room is a “feast of browns and reds” and the chairs are covered in “blood red leather”. This is a house which has kept its history in every part of its being, of its soul.”
Streetview Maps
B) Glasgow The Mitchell Library
D) Glasgow - St Vincent Street
Booktrail Boarding Pass: The House of Spines
Destination: Glasgow Author/Guide: Michael Malone Departure Time: 2000s
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