The People's City

By Anne Hamilton, Nadine Aisha Jassat, Alexander McCall Smith and Irvine Welsh

Edinburgh is steeped in literary history. It is the birthplace of a beloved cast of fictional characters from Sherlock Holmes to Harry Potter. A city whose beauty is matched only by the intrigue of its past, and where Robert Louis Stevenson said, ‘there are no stars so lovely as Edinburgh’s street-lamps’. And to celebrate the city, its literature, and more importantly, its people, Polygon and the OneCity Trust have brought together writers – established and emerging – to write about the place they call home.

Based in well-known areas in Edinburgh, Anne Hamilton, Nadine Aisha Jassat, Alexander McCall Smith, Ian Rankin and Sara Sheridan transport the reader to different decades in the city’s recent past. In the Royal Botanic Gardens a family comes together to learn about its unconventional beginnings. In Leith, we learn about a young writers first encounter with the city that she eventually calls home. In Sandy Bell's late love blooms after a first encounter as students in the city. Brothers come together after many years apart and walk the streets and talk of their past; and in Portobello a young couple are finding their way in twentieth century life.

All proceeds from the book will go to the OneCity Trust, which campaigns for social justice.

'Thanks to everyone who has contributed to the production of the Second One City Trust Book. Let's all take action, to try to eradicate poverty in our city. In buying this book you are making a real difference in Edinburgh, by listening to and sharing the message that Edinburgh should no longer be a divided city but one city with one voice' – Lesley Hinds: One City Trust Board member

• Language: English
• Publisher: Polygon
• Release date: Jan 13, 2022
• ISBN: 9781788854856

Anne Hamilton

Anne Hamilton is the author of the travel memoir, A Blonde Bengali Wife. She lives in Edinburgh with her young son.