The Islands that Roofed the World

About the Book: 

The Slate Islands lie off the west coast of Argyll. Slate has been taken from these shores from their earliest recorded history and the richness and quality of the deposits meant that in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries slate quarrying was one of the most important industries in Scotland.

The Breadalbane family owned the land of Easdale and its surrounds for over four hundred years and of course roofed their own buildings in slate as well as many important buildings, including Cawdor Castle in Invernesshire and Glasgow Cathedral.

Their eighteenth century ownership of Nova Scotia ensured international trade, and it is therefore unsurprising to find public buildings in eastern Canada roofed in Easdale slate.
Churches and other buildings as far afield as Norway, the United States, Australia, New Zealand and the West Indies are also roofed in Slate Islands slate.

The geology, the industry, the people and their way of life: this is the story of the Slate Islands past, present and future, told by the Easdale Folk Museum archivist, with affection and admiration. Easdale remains unique, an island that has no roads and cannot support heavy vehicular traffic. The islanders today are working to retain its delicate environmental and economic balance in a way that is feasible in the modern world.

About the Author:

MARY WITHALL spent thirty years in Secondary and Further Education, lecturing in Natural Sciences, Nutrition and Health subjects before retiring to the Island of Easdale in Argyll in 1998. She became the archivist to the Easdale Island Museum in 1989 and has been associated with the museum ever since. She is a founder member and trustee of the Slate Islands Heritage Trust which was formed in March 2000.

In 1995, Mary published the first of her trilogy of historical novels based on the history of the Slate Islands. Since then she has published five further novels all of which are available in paperback.