Laidlaw (novel)

Laidlaw
First edition
AuthorWilliam McIlvanney
LanguageEnglish
SeriesLaidlaw #1
Genrecrime fiction
PublisherHodder and Stoughton
Publication date
1977
Publication placeScotland
Media typePrint (Hardcover)
Pages224
ISBN0340207272
OCLC3108663
823/.9/14
LC ClassPZ4.M1498 Lai PR6063.A237
Followed byThe Papers of Tony Veitch 

Laidlaw is the first novel of a series of crime books by William McIlvanney, first published in 1977.[1] It features the eponymous detective in his attempts to find the brutal sex-related murderer of a Glasgow teenager. Laidlaw is marked by his unconventional methods in tracking the killer, immersing himself in a 1970s Glasgow featuring violence and bigotry.

When Laidlaw was released in 1977, McIlvanney was known for recently winning the Whitbread Prize with his historical family novel, Docherty; as a complete departure from that genre, it surprised many of his readers.[2]

Tartan Noir

This novel is considered the first 'Tartan Noir' and is cited as being inspiration for the Rebus novels by Ian Rankin.[3] Alan Massie wrote that "Hemingway used to say that all American literature came out of Huckleberry Finn; all Scottish crime writing — ‘tartan noir’ — comes out of Laidlaw."[2]

References

  1. ^ Dickson, Beth. "William McIlvanney's Laidlaw Novels". The Association for Scottish Literary Studies. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  2. ^ a b Massie, Alan (6 July 2013). "Laidlaw by William McIlvanney - review". The Spectator. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  3. ^ Johnstone, Doug (11 August 2013). "How William McIlvanney invented tartan noir". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
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