The People Of The Sea

by David Thomson

Published October 1965
David Thomson visited the remote sea coasts of the Scottish Isles and the West of Ireland on journeys in search of the legends of the selchies - mythological creatures who transform from seals into humans.

A magical world emerged, in which men are rescued by seals in stormy seas, take seal-women for their wives and have their children suckled by seal-mothers. Mysterious and fascinating, these stories retain their spell-binding charm through Thomson's beautiful prose. The People of the Sea is a timeless and haunting book, rich in rewards and surprises.

Woodbrook

by David Thomson

Published 1 January 1976
David Thomson's memoir of his ten years spent as a tutor in Ireland picks up the thread of "Nairn in Darkness and Light", the story of his Scottish childhood. In 1932, at the age of 18, he went to Woodbrook, a house that gives its name to a small rural area in Ireland. This book grew out of two great loves - for Woodbrook, and for Phoebe, his pupil. It builds up a picture of a genteel pre-war society, of Irish history and troubled Anglo-Irish relations, and of a delightful family. Above all, it portrays the enchantment of falling in love and the desolation of bereavement.