Malcolm, first published in 1875, is unique among MacDonald’s novels, in that its setting-and consequently its language-savours more than any other of his native northeast of Scotland. It also features his most carefully constructed plot (centring around the identity of his young fisherman-hero) and one of his most colourful casts of characters. Since the entire tale unfolds in the small coastal village of “Portlossie,” the author has been able to create, at least for the non-Scottish reader, the feeling of a world set apart: but the sheer grandeur of the tale, its deep-laid plots, and its deeper humanity and truth, will have an appeal not merely local but universal.
In his preface to the Scots/English edition, translator David Jack stresses the importance of the author’s native Doric, hailing Malcolm as “a feast of language” and “a unique chance to luxuriate.” The story’s fisherman-hero he identifies as one of MacDonald’s most vivid types of Christ: a young man with a passion both for service and adventure, who worthily bears the name of Scotland’s ancient kings.
Full original text, plus for all passages in the Scots tongue, the original Scots is shown with a side-by-side translation into English by David Jack
