Tartan Noir Explained

Tartan Noir is a form of crime fiction particular to Scotland and Scottish writers. William McIlvanney, who wrote three crime novels, the first being Laidlaw in 1977,^[1] is considered the father of the genre.^[2]

Criticism

William McIlvanney (whose own work has been considered a precursor to Tartan Noir)^[3] has said that the whole genre is "ersatz".^[4] Charles Taylor has stated that the term has an "inescapably condescending tinge", noting "it's a touristy phrase, suggesting that there's something quaint about hard-boiled crime fiction that comes from the land of kilts and haggis".^[5]

Tartan Noir writers

• Lin Anderson^[6]
• Christopher Brookmyre
• Quintin Jardine^[7]
• Stuart MacBride
• Peter May
• Val McDermid
• William H S McIntyre^[8]
• William McIlvanney
• Denise Mina
• Caro Ramsay
• Sir Ian Rankin

External links

• Web site: Scottish Crime Fiction: An Overview . BooksFromScotland.com . https://web.archive.org/web/20090325153327/http://www.booksfromscotland.com/Features/Reading-Guides/Crime . 25 March 2009.
• Web site: Tartan Noir . TartanNoir.com . https://web.archive.org/web/20130722064251/http://www.tartannoir.com/ . 22 July 2013.
• Web site: Best Defence: A series by William McIntyre . BestDefence.biz.

Notes and References

1. News: How William McIlvanney invented tartan noir . . 12 September 2022 . 11 August 2013.
2. Web site: Introducing Tartan Noir . Scotland.org . 7 May 2023 . 23 November 2022.
3. Web site: Dickson . Beth . William McIlvanney's Laidlaw . "ScotNotes" series . Glasgow . Association for Scottish Literary Studies . 1998 . registration . Internet Archive.
4. News: A writer's life: William McIlvanney . Stuart . Kelly . 27 August 2006 . . 3 August 2017.
5. News: Paint It Noir . Charles . Taylor . 22 February 2004 . . 3 August 2017.
6. News: Scottish crime writers go equipped for Tartan Noir Border invasion . . 12 September 2022 . 29 April 2018.
7. News: The best Scottish crime writers you've never read . . 12 September 2022.
8. Web site: Tartan Noir in 2016 . InternationalCrimeFiction.org . International Crime Fiction Research Group . 5 July 2023 . 7 April 2016.