Laidlaw (novel)

Laidlaw

First edition
Author	William McIlvanney
Language	English
Series	Laidlaw #1
Genre	rime fiction
Publisher	Hodder and Stoughton
Publication date	1977
Publication place	Scotland
Media type	Print (hardcover)
Pages	224
ISBN	0340207272
OCLC	3108663
Dewey Decimal	823/.9/14
LC Class	PZ4.M1498 Lai PR6063.A237
Followed by	The Papers of Tony Veitch

Laidlaw is the first novel of a series of crime books by William McIlvanney, first published in 1977. ^[1] It features the eponymous detective in his attempts to find the brutal sex-related murderer of a Glasgow teenager. Laidlaw is marked by his unconventional methods in tracking the killer, immersing himself in a 1970s Glasgow featuring violence and bigotry.

When Laidlaw was released in 1977, McIlvanney was known for having recently won the Whitbread Prize with his historical family novel, Docherty; as a complete departure from that genre, it surprised many of his readers. ^[2]

Tartan Noir

This novel is considered the first 'Tartan Noir' and is cited as being inspiration for the Rebus novels by Ian Rankin. ^[3] Alan Massie wrote that "Hemingway used to say that all American literature came out of Huckleberry Finn; all Scottish crime writing — ‘tartan noir’ — comes out of Laidlaw." ^[2]

References

1. Dickson, Beth. "William McIlvanney's Laidlaw Novels". The Association for Scottish Literary Studies. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
2. Massie, Alan (6 July 2013). "Laidlaw by William McIlvanney - review". The Spectator. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
3. Johnstone, Doug (11 August 2013). "How William McIlvanney invented tartan noir". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 July 2015.