Can I read Butcher's Broom on EtoBox?

Butcher's Broom by Gunn, Neil Miller, 1891-1973 is a work of fiction available to read on EtoBox.

What is Butcher's Broom about?

Butcher's Broom, one of Neil Gunn's richest, most nuanced novels, introduces Dark Mairi, "like a bit of the earth that was given hands and eyes," a healer and core of strength for a small Scottish community of crofters. Her story unfolds during the early nineteenth-century Highland clearances, when landlords dispossessed whole villages to make way for wintering sheep. As her neighbors' lives and her own begin to crumble in the face of encroaching progress, Mairi's life-giving spirit provides a stabilizing link to tradition. Gunn retraces the roots of Highland culture as he weaves the stories of Gaelic villagers. The songs of the Bards are intertwined with the stories of sad Elie, who wanders among strangers with her fatherless child; fiery Seonaid, who defies the invaders from her rooftop; tortured Rob, who fails in his loving; and Dark Mairi, who does not. Despite Butcher's Broom's tragic climax, its conclusion is not without tenderness and hope. It transcends time and place to speak about what is most lasting and precious in humankind.

Who reads Butcher's Broom?

Author

Gunn, Neil Miller, 1891-1973

Publisher

New York: Walker and Co.

Published

1994

Language

EN

ISBN

9780802712912

Category

work of fiction

Subjects

Literary Fiction, Fiction, Humanities

Rating

4.1 / 5 (53 ratings)

Updated

2026-03-14