Portobello Book Blog

July 14th 2024

The Real Mackay by Helen Graham | #historicalfiction #bookreview #Edinburgh #theatre #20BooksOfSummer

This is the fictionalised story of a wee lad from the Lawnmarket in Edinburgh who became one of the biggest stars of the Scottish stage. Helen Graham portrayed Char...

On the 11th of June 1821, Sir Walter Scott wrote to Joanna Baillie alerting her the fact that a Scottish actor, Charles Mackay, was to play the part of Bailie Nicol Jarvie for a single night at Covent Garden. Scott had already seen Charles Mackay play the part of Bailie Nicol Jarvie at the Theatre...

This is a rich immersion into the life of actor Charles Mackay who was a ‘celebrity’ of the early 1800s during the rising popularity of theatres in Scotland. Mackay was best known for acting in Sir Walter Scott’s novels which had been adapted for the theatre, and especially for playing the Bailie in...