Description
“This little book, first printed and published in Glasgow in 1850, has two authors, and two parts. The first part, by William MacDonald, A.M., M.D., a native of Islay, is descriptive and historical, consisting of three sections, of which the first is a detailed description of the island, and the other two regale the reader with some of the more vivid episodes in Islay’s long history. […] The second part of the book, by John Murdoch, is entitled A New and Ready Way of Disposing of Islay, &c. A longer version of the title of what is really a short essay appears on the title page at the front of the book: A New and Ready Way of Disposing of That Interesting Island, Which Would Pay the Debt, Restore the Late Proprietor and Give the Best Return to Large and Small Capitalists. In all but name, therefore, this book is an estate agent’s Prospectus, aimed not at the aristocracy but at ordinary people, produced at a time when Islay’s laird had gone bankrupt, and the island faced ruin and disaster.” – Excerpt from the introduction by Norman S. Newton
