Laidlaw (novel)

Laidlaw
Author William McIlvanney
Country Scotland
Language English
Series Laidlaw #1
Genre crime fiction
Publisher Hodder and Stoughton
Publication date
1977
Media type Print (Hardcover)
Pages 224
ISBN 0340207272
OCLC 3108663
823/.9/14
LC Class PZ4.M1498 Lai PR6063.A237
Followed by The Papers of Tony Veitch

Laidlaw is the first novel of a series of crime books by William McIlvanney, first published in 1977.[1] It features the eponymous detective in his attempts to find the brutal sex related murderer of a Glasgow teenager. Laidlaw is marked by his unconventional methods in tracking the killer, immersing himself in a 1970s Glasgow featuring violence and bigotry.

When Laidlaw was released in 1977, McIlvanney was known for recently winning the Whitbread Prize with his historical family novel, Docherty, and as a complete departure from that genre and surprised many of his readers.[2]

This novel is considered the first 'Tartan Noir' and is cited as being inspiration for the Rebus novels by Ian Rankin.[3] Alan Massie wrote that "Hemingway used to say that all American literature came out of Huckleberry Finn; all Scottish crime writing — ‘tartan noir’ — comes out of Laidlaw."[2]

References

  1. Dickson, Beth. "William McIlvanney’s Laidlaw Novels". The Association for Scottish Literary Studies. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  2. 1 2 Massie, Alan (6 July 2013). "Laidlaw by William McIlvanney - review". The Spectator. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  3. Johnstone, Doug (11 August 2013). "How William McIlvanney invented tartan noir". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 July 2015.


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