Dunnett sees off Rankin and Rowling in Scottish poll • 28 November 2014 Francis Crawford of Lymond, the central figure in the Lymond Chronicles by Scottish historical novelist Dorothy Dunnett, has been voted the favourite character from a Scottish book. The poll, carried out as part of Book Week Scotland 2014, attracted over 3,150 votes. Book-lovers from around the globe got involved, with votes coming in from 28 different countries including Argentina, Singapore and Qatar. The poll revealed that the 10 favourite characters were: Francis Crawford of Lymond (Dorothy Dunnett) - 458 Begbie (Irvine Welsh) - 339 Rebus (Ian Rankin) - 338 Sherlock Holmes (Arthur Conan Doyle) - 300 Chris Guthrie (Lewis Grassic Gibbon) - 282 Hermione Granger (J K Rowling) - 268 Katie Morag (Mairi Hedderwick) - 264 Jean Brodie (Muriel Spark) - 257 Tying in ninth and 10th place were Oor Wullie (D C Thomson) and Harry Potter (J K Rowling), each with 223 votes. Marc Lambert, Director of Scottish Book Trust, said that while Francis Crawford of Lymond might be an unknown name to many, Dorothy Dunnetts enduring popularity, sustained over the years by her legions of devoted fans, is testament to the strength of writing talent that we enjoy in Scotland. Literature is one of the best ways of really inhabiting another persons thoughts, and is the reason why people have such strong feelings about their favourite character. It isnt always a traditionally ‘nice character who gets under peoples skin either, as is proven by Begbie and Miss Jean Brodies positions in the top 10. Members of the public were invited to choose from a shortlist of 50 titles compiled by a panel of experts in collaboration with Scottish Book Trust staff. The books were selected in an attempt to reflect the depth and breadth of Scottish writing. Voters also had the option to nominate another character if their favourite wasnt on the shortlist, and the most popular wildcard vote went to Jocky Scott, a character from the cult comedy novel The Tartan Special One by Dundee-born Barry Phillips. His fans, who launched a campaign for Jocky to win the competition, boosted the character to 14th position in the poll.
Posted on: Fri, 28 Nov 2014 11:26:00 +0000
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