Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Whisky Galore

Whisky Galore
cover
 A lovely commission I put to bed a month or two back for a new hardback edition of Sir Compton Mackenzie's classic tale, set during World War II, whereby a cargo vessel (the S.S. Cabinet Minister) is wrecked off a remote fictional Hebridean island group — Great Todday and Little Todday — with fifty thousand cases of whisky aboard! Celtic cunning is pitted against Sassanach censorship.
Published by Birlinn.

My idea for the cover was a deathly quiet, almost dour, view of the islands in the background and a vignette, in the form of a bottle of single malt Uisce Bea'tha, containing all the 'spirit' of the islanders at a ceilidh within it. I'd seen the film as a kid but I'd not read the book at that point. But I have now and its a cracking good read at that.

I really enjoyed this job and think that shows...

Cover detail

Whisky Galore

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5 comments:

  1. AnonymousOctober 23, 2012 at 12:42 PM

    Great cover!

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  2. Besheer A. AbbaroOctober 23, 2012 at 10:25 PM

    Lovely cover Paul, reminds me of those 1950's Penquin editions. Very Nice!

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  3. Paul BommerOctober 24, 2012 at 8:51 AM

    Thanks so much Lynn and Besheer, your kind words are very much appreciated.
    Paul B x

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  4. Clive Hicks-JenkinsNovember 1, 2012 at 10:05 AM

    Fantastic commission and a wonderfully spirited response. You hit absolutely the right note, catching the quality of the past when the book was written, and the contemporary aspect of revisiting from the perspective of the present. Perfect. Congratulations!

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  5. Clive Hicks-JenkinsNovember 1, 2012 at 10:09 AM

    PS: who published this and when will I be able to get a copy?

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