The Soap Man

Lewis, Harris and Lord Leverhulme

Author: Roger Hutchinson

When Lord Leverhulme bought the Hebridean islands of Lewis and Harris in 1918, his intention was to revolutionise the lives and environments their people. But the men and women of Lewis and Harris fought the law, their landowner, local businesses and the entire media to preserve the settled crofting population of their islands. This is that story.

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Summary

Description

In 1918, as the First World War was drawing to a close, the eminent liberal industrial Lord Leverhulme bought – lock, stock and barrel – the Hebridean island of Lewis. His intention was to revolutionise the lives and environments of its 30,000 people, and those of neighbouring Harris, which he shortly added to his estate.For the next five years a state of conflict reigned in the Hebrides. Island seamen and servicemen returned from the war to discover a new landlord whose declared aim was to uproot their identity as independent crofter/fishermen and turn them into tenured wage-owners. They fought back, and this is the story of that fight.

Awards

Short-listed for Saltire Society Scottish Book of the Year 2004

Critic Reviews

“Readable as a novel, rich in insights . . . has resonance far beyond the lives of its subjects'”

'A wonderful little book about what happens when righteous ambition meets stubborn culture'

-- Gerard De Groot Scotland on Sunday

'Readable as a novel . . . rich in insights'

The Herald

'Magnificent . . . Roger Hutchinson is a master wordsmith'

West Highland Free Press

About the Author

Roger Hutchinson is an award-winning author and journalist. After working as an editor in London, in 1977 he joined the West Highland Free Press in Skye. Since then he has published thirteen books, including Polly: the True Story Behind Whisky Galore and the bestselling Calum’s Road (2007), which was shortlisted for the Royal Society of Literature’s Ondaatje Prize.