Desperate Dan made his first appearance in issue 1 of the “The Dandy Comic” in December 1937 as reproduced above. “The Dandy Comic” was arguably Scotland’s greatest contribution to 20th century popular culture at least until a single mother completed her book about a boy wizard in an Edinburgh café in 1995. “The Dandy Comic” […]
Category: 21st-century items
![Terry Gilliam looking through the archive at the National Library of Scotland, George IV Bridge, Edinburgh.](https://blog.nls.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Terry-Gilliam-750x410.jpg)
NLS celebrates 20 years in the world’s first UNESCO City of Literature
This October we celebrate the twentieth anniversary of Edinburgh becoming the world’s first UNESCO City of Literature, the founding city in what is now an international network of 53 Cities of Literature in 39 countries around the world. Looking back, we can hardly believe it’s been two decades. The National Library of Scotland was at […]
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Explore our world class ice skating collections on the 40th anniversary of Torvill and Dean winning Olympic gold
On Valentine’s Day 1984 a British television audience of more than 24 million watched Torvill and Dean skate to Maurice Ravel’s Boléro at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo. The performance brought them a gold medal and a seemingly permanent place in the hearts of the British nation. Thanks to the success of John Curry, […]
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Factual books for children in the collections
Legal deposit legislation means that most UK and Irish publications are in our collections. As a consequence we have items you might not expect to find in a reference library such as car and other repair manuals and Mills and Boon romances. If you need information on how to build a shed, knit a jumper, […]
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You can now explore “The Listener” magazine for free
You might have thought about getting a reader’s ticket for the National Library of Scotland but decided against it as it is not convenient for you to visit our Edinburgh reading rooms. Did you know that free membership of the Library lets you consult our physical collections but also gives you remote access to digital […]
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Some new football books for the collections thanks to Cammy Murray of St Mirren, Motherwell, and Arbroath Football Clubs
The Library is home to almost certainly the largest collection of books on Scottish football in the world. We have biographies, annuals, club histories and match programmes dating from the mid 19th century to the present day covering all levels of the game from amateur to the national team. We are always keen to add […]
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Initial success : J. R. Hartley and other authors who use initials
In 1983 the best-known author in Britain was not a bestseller like Jeffrey Archer, Roald Dahl, or Fay Weldon but J.R. Hartley the author of “Fly fishing”. The book was featured in an advert promoting the Yellow Pages telephone directory. “Fly fishing” was the object of a quest round second-hand bookshops by an elderly gentleman. […]
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James Dover Grant becomes bestselling author Lee Child
Lee Child is the author of a series of thrillers about former American military police officer Jack Reacher. who travels around the United States by bus carrying only a toothbrush and a bank card. It has been claimed that a Jack Reacher novel is sold every four seconds, fans of the series include Stephen King, […]
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A potted history of pen names
A pen name is a literary alias: a variation of a writer’s birth or married name or a completely invented pseudonym. The Library’s exhibition ‘Pen Names’ takes a thematic approach to the subject, looking at how factors such as privacy, gender, reputation, authenticity, and genre have influenced writers’ decision to use a pen name from […]
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Refugee Week at the National Library — Sound and Voice
Scotland has three official languages, but countless others have echoed through its streets and floated over its airwaves. From poetry to protest chants, the speech and song of the immigrants and refugees who have made their homes in Scotland have enriched the soundtrack of Scottish life. Pause for a moment to imagine the long-gone soundscape […]