We are absolutely delighted to welcome Val McDermid and Jo Sharp back to The Portobello bookshop for an event to celebrate their novel, This Door of the Seas, which was published in August as part of Polygon’s Darkland Tales series! It’s a visceral historical retelling the story of Scotland’s only colony, from high hopes that united the country to a failure that bankrupted a nation.

McDermid and Sharp will be in conversation with fellow author Doug Johnstone.

Please note that as This Door of the Seas was published earlier in the year, books for the Book & Ticket options will be posted out to you or made available to collect from the bookshop between the time of your order and the event on Thursday 26th November. You can choose whether you would prefer collection or postage in the checkout options.

About This Door of the Seas:

The Darien Venture was the singular event at the end of the seventeenth century that fundamentally altered Scotland’s future. It took place on the other side of the world, amid the jungle-coastline at the junction between the continents of North and South America. And most of us know next to nothing about it.

Now it’s time to remedy that. Award-winning novelist Val McDermid and Geographer Royal for Scotland Jo Sharp unite in this revelatory novella to trace the story of Scotland’s only trading colony, which turned from a dream of prosperity to a nightmare that bankrupted an already impoverished nation and propelled it towards political union with England.

Written as a series of letters home from expedition scientist Dr James Wallace to his wife Eliza and Sir Robert Sibbald, the first Geographer Royal, this epistolary tale offers a devastating account of the forces that doomed the endeavour and completely changed the history of the British Isles in the process.

Please note: Tickets for our events are non-refundable. Professional photography and videography may take place during this event. Thank you for your understanding.