Whispering Gallery, Issue 162

Birds represent a rich theme across all Dorothy Dunnett’s books: in this issue we explore the many examples of bird imagery that our author draws on.

A reader sympathetic to Oonagh O’Dwyer sets out to explore why so many of us respond negatively to her character. We continue our case study of Primaflora, and our Dunnett Book of Hours chronicles the thoughts and activities of our characters in summer.

From the Dunnett archive, we have the notes Dunnett compiled in the early 1980s describing Johnson Johnson’s yacht, Dolly, and attempt to illustrate these terms and establish what Dolly actually looked like.

We print Dunnett’s replies to a long-running correspondence with two readers, cherished and preserved by the recipients and now offered for readers of Whispering Gallery to enjoy. And we present an overview of this year’s highly enjoyable Dunnett Weekend from the perspective of a first-time attendee.

Contents 

• The Chairman’s Column
• Trustees’ Notice Board
• Members’ Page
• Bird Imagery in Dunnett
• The Case for Primaflora, part 2
• Oonagh O’Dwyer: A Case for the Defence
• A Dunnett Lexicon
• La Carnavale di Venezia: Hidden Poems in Dunnett
• The Dunnett Weekend
• There is a Season: Summer
• Corresponding with Dorothy Dunnett
• ‘Yacht Dolly’
• Talking Point
• Obituaries
• A Close Read

Published June 2024