Dream Islands by HGF Pynche-Maxwell

Singing Sands Beach on Islay: thanks to Islay.Scot 

Title: Dream Islands 

Author: HGF Pynche-Maxwell

Publisher: Beale and Batter (15/6)

Source book: The Singing Sands by Josephine Tey (Inspector Grant #6)

The beasts that talk,

The streams that stand

The stones that walk,

The singing sand

………………..

………………..

That guard the way

To Paradise.

Inspector Alan Grant is travelling to Scotland on sick leave from Scotland Yard when he comes across a puzzle that lodges in his mind and forces him to investigate. A short verse written on a newspaper Grant picks up by chance leads him to the (fictional) island of Cladda in the Hebrides.

Wee Archie tells Grant that Cladda has singing sands - an amazing beach where the sand squeaks as you walk on it, and that there are walking stones on Lewis (a real island). Grant turns to the many books about the Hebrides in his cousin’s house and the local library, and reads Dream Islands.

Grant goes to stay at the Cladda Hotel, on Cladda, which seems to be the only place to stay on what HGF Pynche-Maxwell calls this “tiny oasis of civilisation in a barbarous world”. Unfortunately it seems that this tiny oasis is extraordinarily uncomfortable: the hotel room is freezing and without sufficient bedclothes, the windows don’t open, and apparently no one on the island can cook.

For years it never occurred to me that Cladda wasn’t a real island, and I first read The Singing Sands about 50 years ago. But this time I read it I looked the island up. Well, this is not just an blog about fictional books, it’s a scholarly blog about fictional books. Which, of course, you already realise. For a full list of Scottish islands here’s a Wikipedia page. 

Since Cladda isn’t a real island, Dream Islands cannot be a real book. Resting my case here. I’ll get my coat. (But strangely, for years I never questioned whether Dream Islands was a real book or not).

And for other fictional Scottish islands, this one is in a fictional book, see here. But don’t forget Whiskey Galore, another real book, which features the fictional islands of Great Todday and Little Todday. If you don’t fancy reading the book, try the film, both of them based on a real incident.

And were you paying attention to Wee Archie? Because you should have been.

Kentra Bay and the Singing Sands: thanks to Wild About Lochaber