Jennifer Morag Henderson

Jofrid Gunn tells the story of a woman who came from the Faroe Islands in the 16th century to marry into the Clan Gunn, in the north of Scotland. Inspired by the glimpses of lives found in archives, this is a biography in poetry. Each poem can be read individually, but when put together they tell the story of Jofrid's life - descriptions of the incredible natural places she lived in, the power of the sea, her family life, encounters with the huldufolk or 'hidden people' of legend, and her small part in the clan battles and blood feuds of the time. "A wonderfully vivid and evocative book that intertwines poetry, small passages of prose, geography, history, even music and an awareness of human ancestry within its pages. The level of skill and craft in Jennifer Morag Henderson's new work is continually evident as it evokes both the existence of the Princess of Suthuroy and her connections to the history of Scotland. Its pages contain a moving and sensitive elegy to a past way of life, but it also does much more than that, immersing its readers into a world and existence that has largely disappeared from view." -Donald S. Murray "From the opening of this accomplished debut collection, we are with a poet who spins the lustre of her lyricism both through scholarly research and an intuitive, and innovative, sensitivity for specificity in language and tone as a meeting of the often-combative tides of diverse places and cultures. Henderson makes imminent not only the meaning of the runes but their musicality, tuning words, rhythm, metre and compelling characters to reflect the circling of seas between contesting 'norths': Scotland, the archipelagos of the North Sea and the Atlantic, and Faero. Avid in her attentive worlding; 'looping' the complex textual threads of histories and lore, like George Mackay Brown, Henderson trembles the web of North Atlantic connections through assured understanding of the moments - linguistic, cultural, historical - at which their timelines coincide; events around which 'swords and poets' songs' gather, and through which everyday lives are lifted to the realms of thought and memory. Jofrid Gunn is redolent with Glissant's 'poetics of relation', cinching past and contemporary concerns -precarity of climate and environment; conflicts; displacement and migrations; the complexity of quests for identity and belonging - in a wave weave of empathy. Journeying between 'gunwales' and 'water monsters', bringing only what can be carried - music, story; 'the ghost of a language in our mouths' - Henderson is our guide, inviting us to shelter in the lea of 'the song'; those nurtures of story and tradition, part sustained, part renovated, that give meaning, aiding us in ceasing from the 'tasks' of a striving life." -Cait O'Neill McCullagh

This is the first biography of Jean Gordon, who is best known as the first wife of the notorious Earl of Bothwell. Bothwell divorced Jean in order to marry Mary, Queen of Scots, and Jean and her family were closely involved in all of the major events of Mary’s short and turbulent reign in Scotland. Jean was the youngest daughter of the powerful Earl of Huntly, the ‘King in the North’, and Daughters of the North reframes the history of Scotland during the reign of Mary, Queen of Scots by viewing events from Jean’s point of view and from the standpoint of the north of Scotland.The book reveals the intrigue at the royal court, and relates that Jean’s life was much more rich and complex than supposed. Jean married three times, and her second marriage was to the Earl of Sutherland, making her the Countess of Sutherland – the most powerful woman in the north of Scotland, negotiating between the Earls and the clans and exercising a huge influence over the area. She started a coal mine and salt pan in Brora in the 16th century, an astonishing example of early industrialisation and female agency at a time when the north of Scotland was considered to be wild and lawless; the preserve of violent clansmen.Jean’s daughter married the Chief of Mackay, and Jean became involved in the complicated life of the clans of the north of Scotland, particularly the Mackays, but also the Clan Gunn. Her Sutherland Gordon family had an ongoing feud with the Sinclair Earls of Caithness, while her wider Huntly Gordon family was involved in the famous Gordon-Moray feud – all events remembered in the songs, stories and sayings of the north and north-east. Meanwhile, Jean followed her heart and was reunited in old age with the love of her life. This painstakingly researched and detailed story gives the reader an eminently readable insight into Jean’s life.

Longlisted for the 2022 Highland Book Prize Mary, Queen of Scots’ marriage to the Earl of Bothwell is notorious. Less known is Bothwell’s first wife, Jean Gordon, who extricated herself from their marriage and survived the intrigue of the Queen’s court. Daughters of the North reframes this turbulent period in history by focusing on Jean, who became Countess of Sutherland, following her from her birth as the daughter of the ‘King of the North’ to her disastrous union with the notorious Earl of Bothwell – and her lasting legacy to the Earldom of Sutherland.

'Strips away a lot of the myth and tells a moving story' - The Observer Included in The Telegraph's Best Books of 2016 & The Independent's Best Crime Books of 2016. Josephine Tey: a trailblazing Scottish woman crime writer known for her psychological depth and sharp observations. An acclaimed novelist, with titles such as The Daughter of Time crowned as one of the best crime novels of all time, and A Shilling for Candles forming the basis of 1937 Alfred Hitchcock film Young and Innocent. An inspirational woman whose influence on the crime fiction genre lives on to this day, yet whose own life is shrouded in mystery. This is the first ever biography of Beth MacKintosh. Shedding light on the truth from a shadow of privacy and aliases, Josephine Tey: A Life by Jennifer Morag Henderson introduces us to Elizabeth MacKintosh, the real woman behind the golden age success. Both an acclaimed crime writer and creator of many West End and Broadway plays, MacKintosh’s impact is one frequently overlooked, with this stirring biography finally unveiling her true significance. Celebrating the 125th anniversary of MacKintosh’s birth, this updated edition of the definitive biography includes a new preface. ‘Jennifer Morag Henderson presents us with an intelligent, industrious and interesting woman who knew her own mind’ - The Times Literary Supplement