Mary, Queen of Scots

Eric Linklater considered himself a native of the Orkney Islands, but was born, in 1899, in Wales, where his father, a master mariner, was based. He was educated in Aberdeen and served as a sniper in World War One in the Black Watch. He was badly wounded at Ypres in April 1917. After the war he studied medicine at Aberdeen University where he first started writing.

His writing career took off in 1929 with his first novel, White Maa¿s Saga, followed by his world best-seller Juan in America. He went on to publish many novels, short stories, poetry, plays, memoirs, essays, histories, and two highly successful books for children. He won the 1944 Carnegie Medal for best children¿s book with The Wind on the Moon.

He served with the Royal Engineers, then later worked for the War Office in The Second World War, and wrote several official histories of the military campaigns. Later he was commissioned to write the official history of the Korean War. Married to Marjorie MacIntyre, he had four children. He died in 1974.