Ian Campbell,
Author of The Crescent and The End of The Crescent
The Crescent and The End of The Crescent are novels written by author Ian Campbell. Based on the author’s Scottish family history and set in the era of 1900s - WWII in Dundee Scotland, the books tell the true story of the working class; from the jute mill workers to suffragettes to Black Watch soldiers and emigration and how ordinary people struggled through the depths of poverty. Follow the characters throughout the books to be taken on a journey of hardship and courage during the British empire’s far reaching escapades in trading, politics and war.
Enjoy your visit!
2021
THE CRESCENT
Life in Old Dundee
When John Murphy is sentenced to six months hard labour in Perth Prison for fighting, his wife Annie is left to raise his children in poverty in the tenements of the Crescent. She relies on a pittance from her jute mill wages and handouts from the Parish until her husband is released and tries to break the poverty trap by bare knuckle fighting in the boxing booths and beer tents.
His hard drinking, hard-man style is reduced to that of a 'kettle biler' at home like thousands of other men in Dundee who are out of work. Meanwhile, Westminster and the Whitehall war-rooms are booming, thanks to the growth of the British Empire and the realisation that gold and diamonds in South Africa are ready for the taking.
The 'Kettle-Bilers' are perfect fodder for the Black Watch recruiting sergeants in Dundee who are swamped with men eager to escape the grimy oppression of the jute mills or the dole. The Boer War takes them to the brink of life and death in a faraway land that the real people of Dundee had never heard of before the call to arms.
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I loved this book, it was obviously very well researched and very accurate.
It was great to read about the
jute mills, the history, the very much Dundee words, really well written,
I loved it, hope there are more books from this author.
‘very well researched and very accurate..‘
Laura Reagan
Reviews & Comments
Book arrived late yesterday and finished it within 24 hours.
Really could not put it down.
Grew up in Dundee and great grandparents and grandparents who worked in the mills (and lost finger like Grace) and fought in the Boer war as one of Kitchener's scouts so the book had huge interest to me.
A gritty but so well written tale that I cannot recommend highly enough.
Can't wait to read the next in the series!
‘Really could not put it down.” Amazon Customer Review
Amazing .....
you have to buy this book.
You will not be disappointed.
One of the best books I’ve ever read.
Totally gripping. A great insight into how tough life was in Dundee and beyond
from the late 19th and
into the 20th century.
‘One of the best books I've ever read.‘
S. H. Scott
the story goes on...
New Release 2022
THE END
OF THE CRESCENT
The story begins where The Crescent ends. It follows the life of jute mill weaver Mary-Ann Garland from her prison term back to Dundee in the hard times of the general strike and into the Second World War years in the city. The brutality of the treatment meted out by the screws who made her existence a misery inside was the beginning of her decline for the second time in her life.
Dundee was a hard place to exist on a pittance wage. In the wake of the First World War it was even harder for the strikers to walk out in support of the miners. Emigration to South Africa was a choice George and Catherine McKee made in the belief that Scotland had nothing left to offer them. What he did not know was that they were walking into the end of a disaster and another blood bath in a faraway land.
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This book , along with Ian Campbell’s first The Crescent are amazing. I would put them both in my top ten of favourite books I’ve ever read... maybe even in the top five. Loved them. Thank you Ian Campbell.
‘I would put them both in my top ten of favourite books I've ever read.‘
S. H. Scott
Reviews & Comments
I was really excited to read this book after enjoying The Crescent so much. I liked learning about the details and historical facts of the time, intertwined with the storyline of the real people of Dundee. This book is accessible and perfect for those wanting to learn more about Scottish history, told in a thrilling, heartfelt and honest way.
‘I liked learning about the details and historial facts.” Amazon Customer Review
Absolutely loved this sequel to the crescent, really enjoyed reading what had happened to the families. Thank you Ian for your wonderful work!
‘loved this sequel to the crescent.‘
Kindle Customer
About Ian Campbell
Author Ian Campbell was born in Dundee in the twilight Churchilian years and, like many of his generation, served his apprenticeship in the boom of post-war Britain. In his case it was the shipyards like his father and grandfather before him.
Old Dundee as described herin was part of his youth and was the backdrop to his life before they tore old Dundee down. His familiarity and local knowledge is therefore first hand or has been passed down from his family before him and is reflected in the book.
He has travelled extensively throughout the world for work comitments and lived in a variety of far lands. Ultimately, he returned to Dundee and by coincidence, attended Dudhope Castle when it was Dundee Business School to complete a master's degree in Business Administration. Dudhope Castle is central to the book and rightly so, as it stood proudly overlooking the population of 'The Crescent' for decades.