Whispering Gallery, Issue 170

This issue, published in June 2026, features the first of a series of four new articles about Francis Crawford of Lymond, specially commissioned to mark our hero’s 500th birthday.  Member Ian Bristow studies a man pitted against Fate, exploring the forces that both attract and damage those around him.

Janet Kebbell reflects on the friendship between Jerott and Lymond and how vital this attachment is to the survival of both men.

Nicholas gets a look in, too. We present Sharon Michalove’s talk from April’s Dunnett Weekend, which offers ideas about how language and cultural exchange were negotiated by merchants in The House of Niccolò.

Elsewhere in this issue we continue our illustrated series about the early maps and sea charts used by our characters with a focus on Scotland and – serendipitously – Venice; Venice: The Dorothy Dunnett Guide is now available, and we have an introductory article by author Tina Dallas about the research and writing of the guide. A winner of the Dorothy Dunnett Centenary Award discusses the trading links developed by the clans of the north-west Highlands of Scotland in the century after Nicholas’s fishing exploits.

‘Picturing the Scene’ returns with a colourful array of images chosen by Kate Jewell that depict Henri II’s Entry into Rouen, and the final part of Lisa Hopkins’ series on the priests and prophets in Dunnett’s books looks at questions of destiny and choice raised by the female characters in the Johnson Johnson series.

Contents

FEATURES

• The Dunnett Weekend: An Overview of the Talks
• Code-Switching and Multilingual Societies in the 15th Century
• Tapestry Tales
• No Armour Against Fate
• Mapping and Charting Lymond, Niccolò and Thorfinn, part 3
• The Abbatial House, Rouen
• Where Dutch Fisheries met Clan Waters
• Priests and Prophets, part 4: Johnson Johnson
• Jerott and Francis

REGULARS

• A Dunnett Lexicon
• Among the Archives
• Picturing the Scene: Henri II’s Entry into Rouen
• Locating Scenes of Action in the Novels: Venice: The Dorothy Dunnett Guide
• Talking Point
• The Lymond LifeLine
• That’s Relevant!
• A Close Read

SOCIETY BUSINESS

• The Chair’s Column
• Trustees’ Notice Board
• Members’ Page
• Forthcoming Events