Beside the Bonnie Brier Bush
Ian Maclaren, John Watson
$9.00

John Watson (3 November 1850 – 6 May 1907), was a minister of the Free Church of Scotland. He is remembered as an author of fiction, known by his pen name Ian Maclaren.

Beside the Bonnie Brier Bush is a book of short stories published in 1894. It became a hugely popular bestseller. It is considered to be part of the Kailyard School of Scottish literature. A kailyaird (kale) is comparable to a cabbage patch and refers to a kitchen garden as might be found adjacent to a cottage. The title, Beside the Bonnie Brier Bush, references the Jacobite song “There Grows a Bonnie Brier Bush in our Kailyard”. Publishers Weekly reported it as the bestselling novel in the U.S. during 1895 and the 10th bestselling novel during 1896.