Beyond The Borders

Lavinia Derwent's "Border" books are acknowledged classics of nostalgia, humour and shrewd observation. In her new book she continues her autobiography, away from her childhood in rural Roxburghshire and into the big city life of Glasgow and a job in book-pubishing. Lavinia remains a country mouse rather than a town mouse at heart - but soon the horizons open even wider, to trips to Egypt and Switzerland, to authorship, and even to digs in a house where a murder had been committed. In the course of this book Lavinia Derwent becomes a success in the eyes of the world, with contacts with well-known authors and even a decoration from the Queen - but her eye remains as sharp and her heart as generous throughout.