Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} The Rival Monster by Compton Mackenzie The Rival Monster by Compton Mackenzie. Famous Scots - Sir Compton Mackenzie (1883-1972) Though he had Scottish ancestry, he was born in England, named originally Edward Montague Compton - the earlier family name 'Mackenzie' had been dropped by his father when he became an actor. But Mackenzie was added back by the novelist later as his emotional links with Scotland grew. He began to study law but gave this up to concentrate on writing. Initially he wrote for the theatre and his first novel, Sinister Street, was published in 1913. During the First World War he was the director of the secret service in the Aegean. He moved to Scotland in 1928, settling in Barra which was to be the background for his most famous comedies of Scottish Life, "Whisky Galore" (the film of this was entitled "Tight Little Island" in the US). Other comedies with a Scottish location were "The Monarch of the Glen" and "The Rival Monster" and "Rockets Galore". A staunch nationalist, he was a founder member of the Scottish National Party and was knighted in 1952. The Rival Monster by Compton Mackenzie. The Rival Monster by Compton Mackenzie was first published in 1952. The setting is again the Scottish Highlands and Islands, more particularly the islands of Little Todday and Great Todday, the islands made famous by the sinking of a ship full of whisky in his earlier book Whisky Galore. In fact if you intend to read these books you should start with Keep the Home Guard Turning then read Whisky Galore, then Rockets Galore. All absolute hoots. The Loch Ness monster had been very shy all through the war when the area had been taken over by the military, but more recently there have been several sitings of a terrifying monster with enormous teeth like a hayrake. There’s suspicion that the whole situation has been drummed up to lure tourists up to the islands. Ben Nevis – the local laird is incensed because he thinks ‘his’ Loch Ness monster has been lured away to an island loch and he vows to bring it back to Loch Ness. A Glasgow newspaper gets involved when a local claims that he saw the monster being hit by a flying object which is being described by the press as a flying saucer but is supposedly more akin to a flying teapot spout! It’s feared the monster has been killed. Paul Waggett, the Englishman who fondly imagines he is far superior to any of the locals is of course as delusional as ever and brings a lot of humour to the book. The whole thing is completely nutty, but very well written with Mackenzie having a wonderful feeling for the various dialects used by the characters ranging from the cockney of Mistress Odd who has fallen in love with the islands since her son married one of the islanders, to the differing Scots dialects and Gaelic phrases scattered throughout, luckily there’s a glossary at the back! The Highland Omnibus: "Monarch of the Glen", "Whisky Galore" and "Rival Monster" Paperback – 24 February 2000. That's the review of my husband for the English writer's books -- and mine for MacKenzie's. I bought this collection for my husband, who has wanted it for years, ever since seeing the Ealing stuidos movie "Whisky Galore" when he was a kid. We recently bought an Ealing collection and also watched all of the BBC series "Monarch of the Glen." MacKenzie can be hard reading; there is constant repetition of the same scenes, through letters, conversations and points of view. It's like Roshomon in kilts. Note: this version includes Gaelic translations and pronunciation guides; you'll discover what the old Irish music-hall character really meant when she moaned, "Oh worra worra." Warning: it's spelled nothing like. "Monarch of the Glen": The TV series is a modernized version of the three novels, and manages to mention almost everyone in it, in new or tweaked roles. It's film-geek fun to read all three novels and then watch for the disguised characters and situations to show up in the show. Duncan, for example, is a composite of the old Laird's gillie's name, a character only mentioned once as "a kilted gillie," and -- in the third novel -- a Scottish radio host. "Whisky Galore": Whatever did Paul Waggert do to MacKenzie? He takes a sledge to the man every chance he gets. The movie version is funnier, but only because the one thing MacKenzie really needed was an editor. "The Rival Monsters:" As a journalist for small rural and county papers, I found myself giggling ruefully over MacKenzie's back-and-forth betweeen editors, writers, and the kind of people who write letters to the editor. He's nailed what happens in a small community when the rumor and sensation mill starts. The snit the islanders get into over the filming of "Whisky Galore" is a weirdly satisfying break in the fourth wall.