The oldest things on my list were plays I wrote – for junior
pupils but for adult audiences. I have only published the ones I think you
might enjoy, whatever your age. They all
cost less than a pint of beer, and, indeed, if you are a Kindle Unlimited
person, they are free.
Cockburn’s Edinburgh This isn’t all fun, to be sure.
It includes a duel, a public execution and a miscarriage of justice. But Henry
Cockburn’s “Memorials” are perhaps the most readable book on Edinburgh history,
and I have tried to keep his quiet wit. I wrote it with the deliberate intention
of passing on a lot of Edinburgh history, and entertaining audiences at the
same time.
Three Wise Men I took the Christmas Story as told by
St Matthew and had him retell it for a modern audience. My intention was to
raise a lot of laughs and to provoke a lot of thought. I am happy with the
result. It also casts a critical eye over the teaching profession and the nature
of wisdom.
The Baker Street Irregulars This is a Sherlock Holmes
play. I devised a new story, involving Wiggins and his gang, as well as Holmes
and Watson. The story involves Moriarty, and a nihilist bomb plot. Much of the
action is set in a music hall, and part of the fun was to incorporate lots of
well-known music hall songs. You can hum along as you read.
The Curse of Donald Bane This one is about David I of
Scotland and the founding of Edinburgh. I realised after I had written it that
it has echoes of Rosemary Sutcliff in the approach, but I am happy with that. It
is so much a play of a history teacher that it contains footnotes with primary
sources.
The Secret of Eilean Mhor During lock-down I wrote a
children’s adventure story for my grandsons – and illustrated it. I was sure it
was good enough to publish, so here it is. It is really a celebration of
wonderful holidays on the west coast of Scotland, with an adventure as well.
The
Secret of Eilean Mhor eBook : Harris, George: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store
An Introduction to the Renaissance This is one of my
history lectures, but I really wrote it not for exams but for those who may
have many ideas and experiences of the Renaissance - maybe visitors to Italy - but
would like to get their ideas in order. As well as talking about art, I also
deal briefly with humanism.
