The Back of Beyond

Two young men from a remote Scottish village decide to make their fortunes in London, but can't escape their close ties to home or the girl they leave behind... Alistair Ritchie and Dougal Finnie have grown up in one of the most scenic villages in Scotland, but as they now have a desire to see the world, there is nothing to keep them there - not even Lexie Fraser, who's been chasing Ally since they were fourteen. Lexie has troubles of her own: a sick mother and a missing father, his disappearance a complete mystery. She'd like nothing better than to cling to Ally, which just makes him more determined to break free. But the lads aren't destined to stay away forever. Marriage and babies follow - and so does war. London is no place for young wives and children, and where could be safer than the north of Scotland, the Back of Beyond? But what will their city-raised families make of it - and the folks they left behind?

Doris Davidson was born in Aberdeen in 1922, the daughter of a master butcher and country lass. In 1967 she became a primary school teacher, and subsequently taught in schools in Aberdeen until she retired in 1982 to become a writer, publishing her first work in 1990. Thirteen novels, one collection of short stories and an acclaimed autobiography - A Gift from the Gallowgate - later she was firmly established as one of the country's best-loved romantic novelists. Doris died in June 2012.