The Greatest Books of All Time Set in Scotland

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This list represents a comprehensive and trusted collection of the greatest books. Developed through a specialized algorithm, it brings together 759 'best of' book lists to form a definitive guide to the world's most acclaimed books. For those interested in how these books are chosen, additional details can be found on the rankings page.

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Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
27 To the Lighthouse Virginia Woolf 1927 British English
155 Macbeth William Shakespeare 1606 British English
169 The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie Muriel Spark 1961 British, Scottish English
258 The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner James Hogg 1824 Scottish English
300 The Life of Samuel Johnson James Boswell 1791 British English
344 The Thirty-Nine Steps John Buchan 1915 British English
531 The Wealth of Nations Adam Smith 1776 Scottish English
679 The Expedition of Humphry Clinker Tobias Smollett 1771 British English
842 Outlander Diana Gabaldon 1991 American English
849 Regeneration Pat Barker 1991 British English
1057 The Master of Ballantrae Robert Louis Stevenson 1889 British English
1068 The Seven Storey Mountain Thomas Merton 1948 American English
1088 The Dwarf Par Lagerkvist 1944 Swedish Swedish
1109 Othello William Shakespeare 1603 British English
1166 Lanark Alasdair Gray 1981 Scottish English
1210 The Wasp Factory Iain Banks 1984 British English
1243 Kidnapped Robert Louis Stevenson 1886 British English
1362 The Heart Of Midlothian Sir Walter Scott 1818 Scottish English
1494 Eye Of The Needle Ken Follett 1978 British English
1746 Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion David Hume 1779 British English
1779 Rob Roy Sir Walter Scott 1817 British English
1997 An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding David Hume 1748 Scottish English
2068 How Late It Was, How Late James Kelman 1994 Scottish English
2168 Morvern Callar Alan Warner 1995 Scottish English
2174 Poems Of Robert Burns Robert Burns 1786 Scottish Scots
2209 Trainspotting Irvine Welsh 1993 Scottish English
2240 A Treatise of Human Nature David Hume 1739 British English
2332 Sunset Song Lewis Grassic Gibbon 1932 Scottish English
2439 The Crow Road Iain Banks 1992 British English
2591 The Trick Is to Keep Breathing Janice Galloway 1989 British English
2884 The Busconductor Hines James Kelman 1984 British English
2902 Waverley Sir Walter Scott 1814 British English
3013 The Game Of Kings Dorothy Dunnett 1961 British English
3021 Whisky Galore Compton Mackenzie 1947 British English
3082 Under the Skin Michel Faber 2000 British English
3265 Old Mortality Sir Walter Scott 1816 Scottish English
3468 The Story Of English Robert McCrum 1986 British English
3602 Celtic Tales Hugo Pratt 1980 Italian Italian
3611 Redgauntlet Sir Walter Scott 1824 Scottish English
3911 Salt On Our Skin Benoîte Groult 1988 French French
4421 Life Of John Sterling Thomas Carlyle 1851 British English
4549 Bride Of The Mac Hugh Jan Cox Speas 1954 American English
4623 The Bride Of Lammermoor Sir Walter Scott 1819 Scottish English
4739 When A Scot Ties The Knot Tessa Dare 2015 American English
4900 The Theory Of Moral Sentiments Adam Smith 1759 Scottish English
5039 Highland Velvet Jude Deveraux 1982 American English
5099 A Hunger Like No Other Kresley Cole 2006 American English
5341 Lassie Come Home Eric Knight 1940 British English
5393 Selected Prose Thomas Carlyle 1800 British English
5448 The Burn Vassily Aksyonov 1975 Russian Russian
5633 Queens' Play Dorothy Dunnett 1964 British English
5648 The Prize Julie Garwood 1991 American English
5744 Can You Keep A Secret? Sophie Kinsella 2003 British English
5761 The Disorderly Knights Dorothy Dunnett 1966 British English
5863 The Poems Of William Dunbar William Dunbar 1501 Scottish Middle scots
5862 Mary Stuart Friedrich Schiller 1800 German German
6256 Midwinter Break Bernard MacLaverty 2017 Irish English
6294 The Ringed Castle Dorothy Dunnett 1971 British English
6299 Guy Mannering Sir Walter Scott 1815 Scottish English
6309 Hatter's Castle A. J. Cronin 1931 British English
6337 The Worldly Philosophers Robert Heilbroner 1953 American English
6363 The Restraint Of Beasts Magnus Mills 1998 British English
6472 The Sound Of My Voice Ron Butlin 1987 British English
6623 Looking For The Possible Dance A. L. Kennedy 1993 British English
6629 Checkmate Dorothy Dunnett 1975 British English
6897 The Winter Sea Susanna Kearsley 2008 Canadian English
6939 The Talisman Sir Walter Scott 1825 Scottish English
7016 Original Bliss A. L. Kennedy 1997 British English
7048 Personality Andrew O'Hagan 2003 Scottish English
7117 A Legend Of Montrose Sir Walter Scott 1819 Scottish English
7198 Hide And Seek Ian Rankin 1991 British English
7216 The Journals Of James Boswell James Boswell 1791 British English
7216 The Entail John Galt 1823 Scottish English
7216 Essays Of Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson 1892 Scottish English
7216 Weir Of Hermiston Robert Louis Stevenson 1896 Scottish English
7216 Poems Of Hugh Mac Diarmid Hugh MacDiarmid 1925 Scottish Scots
7216 The Antiquary Sir Walter Scott 1816 Scottish English
7574 The Fair Maid Of Perth Sir Walter Scott 1828 Scottish English
7602 Code Name Verity Elizabeth Wein 2012 British English
7635 The Big Music Kirsty Gunn 2012 New Zealander English
7668 The Wild Places Robert Macfarlane 2007 British English
7757 Shuggie Bain Douglas Stuart 2020 Scottish English
7820 On The Track Of Unknown Animals Bernard Heuvelmans 1955 Belgian French
7843 Black And Blue Ian Rankin 1997 British English
7945 The Hanging Garden Ian Rankin 1998 British English
8164 Loving A Lost Lord Mary Jo Putney 2009 American English
8269 A Caribbean Heiress In Paris Adriana Herrera 2022 American English
8327 The Night Sessions Ken MacLeod 2008 Scottish English
8412 Her Royal Spyness Rhys Bowen 2007 British English
8474 Collected Poems Edwin Muir 1960 Scottish English
8525 Ring Of Bright Water Gavin Maxwell 1960 British English
8530 Sanctum Denise Mina 2002 Scottish English
8657 The Abbot Sir Walter Scott 1820 Scottish English
8677 Marabou Stork Nightmares Irvine Welsh 1995 British English
9011 The Translator Leila Aboulela 1999 British English
9150 Physics In My Generation Max Born 1968 German English
9194 Kieron Smith, Boy James Kelman 2008 Scottish English
9378 Saint Margaret's Cave Elizabeth Helme 1801 British English
9378 The Merry Men And Other Tales And Fables Robert Louis Stevenson 1887 British English
9378 Tales And Fantasies Robert Louis Stevenson 1905 British English
9519 After You’d Gone Maggie O'Farrell 2000 British English
9593 A Kind Of Spark Elle McNicoll 2020 Scottish English
9614 Exit Music Ian Rankin 2007 British English
9674 Blue Lightning Ann Cleeves 2010 British English
9720 Laxdæla Saga Unknown 1245 Icelandic Old norse
9861 Mary Queen Of Scots Antonia Fraser 1969 British English
9861 The Betrothed Sir Walter Scott 1825 Scottish English
9861 The Black Dwarf Sir Walter Scott 1816 Scottish English
9861 Castle Dangerous Sir Walter Scott 1831 Scottish English
9861 The Monastery Sir Walter Scott 1820 Scottish English
9886 The Gentleman’s Guide To Vice And Virtue Mackenzi Lee 2017 American English
9918 The Lost Jonathan Aycliffe 1996 British English
10092 The Ends Of The World Peter Brannen 2017 American English
10454 Churchill Andrew Roberts 2018 British English
10643 Clear Carys Davies 2024 Unknown Unknown
10709 Bring The House Down Charlotte Runcie 2025 Scottish English
10769 Before The Oil Ran Out Ian Jack 1987 British English
10927 The Health Services Since The War Charles Webster 1988 British English
11274 The Turn Of The Key Ruth Ware 2019 British English
11311 Mysteries Of The Middle Ages Thomas Cahill 2006 American English