Peak Beyond Peak: The Unpublished Scottish Journeys of Isobel Wylie Hutchison

Box of lost essays by forgotten Scottish solo Arctic explorer, poet and botanist  Isobel Wylie Hutchison published in new book 

A collection of lost essays by one of Scotland’s most remarkable women has been published as a book by Edinburgh publisher Taproot Press. Peak Beyond Peak: The Unpublished  Scottish Journeys of Isobel Wylie Hutchison is compiled and transcribed by Hazel Buchan Cameron, who first discovered the essays in a box marked ‘Unpublished?’ while working as  Writer-In-Residence for the Royal Scottish Geographical Society. Encouraged by volunteer and former Head of Geography at Perth Academy Kenneth MacLean, Cameron began the arduous task of transcribing the documents and immersing herself in the extraordinary world of Isobel Wylie Hutchison, unsure if she would even find a publisher. Now, eight years later,  the tales of Hutchison’s journeys across Scotland and beyond are to be finally shared with the public.  

Isobel Wylie Hutchison (1889–1982) is one of Scotland’s most incredible yet relatively unknown figures. A writer, poet, painter, filmmaker, botanist and explorer, Hutchison was famous in her time for travelling solo across the Arctic and recording these journeys in books and magazines including National Geographic and for BBC radio. Since her death in 1982,  however, she has fallen out of public awareness and her legacy largely forgotten compared with that of her male counterparts, despite a biography published in 2010 by Canadian writer  Gwyneth Hoyle, which sparked interest and saw Isobel named as one of 50 Scots who shaped the world by The Herald in 2019.  

Now Isobel can speak for herself again. Published with an erudite introduction detailing  Hutchison’s life and achievements, Peak Beyond Peak thus represents a landmark moment in  Scottish culture, not only for bringing focus back to one of Scotland’s most astonishing women and her relationship to the country, but for reaffirming the importance of her work and its message of cultural exchange, curiosity and communication at a time of increasing social division and disconnection from the world.  

On working to produce the book, Hazel Buchan Cameron said: “Kirkliston near Edinburgh in  Scotland was the home of Isobel Wylie Hutchison. In order to travel the world and in particular the Arctic, she needed to be rooted in one place and her home at Carlowrie Castle  was her ‘taproot’. I am therefore thrilled that her Scottish essays are being published by  Edinburgh publisher Taproot Press. Not only linked by place but by botany. When I saw  Patrick’s (Taproot’s Co-Founder) enthusiasm for Isobel, I knew her stories were in the right  hands, and so it has proved to be.”

Taproot Press Co-Founder Patrick Jamieson says: “I have admired the work of Isobel Wylie Hutchison ever since discovering her while at university, and so it is an honour and joy to work with Hazel in bringing these essays to print. Isobel’s words continue to inspire today,  and this collection provides a vital insight into her development as a person and writer, as  well as the nuanced ways in which Scotland has transformed over the last 50-100 years.” 

Book details – Peak Beyond Peak: The Unpublished Scottish Journeys of  Isobel Wylie Hutchison compiled and transcribed by Hazel Buchan Cameron ISBN: 978-1-8380800-7-5 

BUY:

TAPROOT PRESS HERE 

BOOKSHOP.ORG HERE

• Taproot Press is an Edinburgh-based publisher established by Patrick Jamieson and Dani Silva in 2020. Other titles include Robert Alan Jamieson’s Highland  Book Prize-longlisted Plague Clothes, Linda Cracknell’s The Other Side of  Stone, and All the Way Home: 30 Years of Rock Trust, an anthology of new writing by young people and established authors including Val McDermid,  Jenni Fagan, and James Robertson.  

Twitter: @PressTaproot 

• Hazel Buchan Cameron has worked on many creative projects for herself and others including being the first Writer in Residence at the Royal Scottish  Geographical Society. Her previous publications include a memoir, Just Go  In (Grace Note Publications, 2015), a poetry collection, Cutting Letters (Red  Squirrel Press, 2018), and several poetry pamphlets, including The Currying  Shop, which was joint winner of the Callum Macdonald Memorial Award in  2008.  

Twitter: @pyriform  

Tags: featured, women writers

Category: On Writing