An Orkney Maid

A sandstone house and its sheltered garden introduce the Ragnor family in Orkney in 1853. Conall Ragnor has made his wealth through trade, and his blunt speech and firm religious views help define the household. His wife, Rahal Gordon, comes from Moray and follows a different church tradition. Around them, the islands are changing as money replaces barter and new farming methods alter established habits. Barr gives this domestic story a setting rooted in the harbour, buildings and customs of island life.

Family influence takes a more personal form when Adam Vedder encourages his granddaughter Sunna to welcome Maximus Grant. Sunna hears her grandfather's plans but privately prefers Boris, imagining the quarrels and reconciliations they might share. These conversations make the novel appealing for its competing expectations of a suitable partner, its humour between generations and its attention to the difference between family advice and private desire.