by Gavin Maxwell
Books & films by others
The Saga of Ring of Bright Water - the enigma of Gavin Maxwellby: Douglas Botting
596 pages 2nd revised edition (28 April, 2000)
Neil Wilson Publishing Ltd; ISBN: 1897784856
Editorial review on amazon.co.uk:
Gavin Maxwell was one of Scotland's greatest natural history writers and gained worldwide fame when he wrote "Ring of Bright Water", embracing the life of the otter. This biography traces his life from his earliest days in Galloway, through school and army service, and on to his career as a writer.
Maxwell's Ghost
by: Richard Frere
253 pages new edition (22 June, 1999)
Birlinn Limited; ISBN: 1841580031
Editorial review on amazon.co.uk:
Gavin Maxwell's "Ring of Bright Water" is one of the most famous books of natural history of the 20th century. Yet the man remains a fascinating and enduring enigma. This is a personal and sympathetic look at an extraordinary man during his last tumultuous years by one of his closest friends and his business manager. The title refers to the physical resemblance between the two men and the book aims to provide an honest portrait of Maxwell through the destruction of Camusfearna to his final acceptance of the inevitability of death.
A review from Duncan Brown (duncan@duncanbrown.co.uk) from Inverness
(15 February, 2001);
The final years of Gavin Maxwell's Ring Of Bright Water
Richard Frere writes a fascinating book on his years as Gavin Maxwell's right-hand man. Frere - a Gavin Maxwell look-a-like (hence the title) - joins Maxwell at Sandaig first as his builder and later as his company secretary.
This book is a wonderful autobiography of Frere's years in the Sixties as well as being a most interesting insight into the final years of Maxwell himself and his Ring Of Bright Water.
Frere was many things in his life - mountaineer, lumberjack, poulterer, mushroom farmer, country squire, author - and this book adds more strings to his bow as he tells of his bizarre exploits of renovating Gavin Maxwell's lighthouse cottages off the Isle of Skye and keeping Maxwell's creditors at bay.
The book gives discreet fly-on-the-wall coverage of Gavin Maxwell's home life at Sandaig (his Camusfearna in Ring of Bright Water). The book complements Frere's other autobiographical works "Beyond The Highland Line" and "In Symphony Austere". Most of all, the book gives a unique view on the tragic ending of both Gavin Maxwell and Camusfearna written by a man who can truthfully say "I was there". This book will have you laughing and crying.
Echoes of Camusfearna (video)
narrated by Virginia McKenna
The story of the wild otters living in the west of Scotland and attempts to help protect them. Also features previously unseen footage of Gavin Maxwell with the otters.
Availabe by mail order through the Bright Water Visitor Centre
The White Island
By: John Lister-Kaye
The story of the Lighthouse Island of Eilean Ban which was the last home of Gavin Maxwell and his otter Teko.
Availabe by mail order through the bookshop of the Bright Water Visitor Centre
Ring of Bright Water (1969)
directed by: Jack Couffer
Available on Video and DVD
Editorial Review by Amazon.com:
Coincidence throws Mij the otter and Graham Merrill (Bill Travers) the computer worker together on a busy London street. What transpires from this chance meeting is an epiphany that leads to the complete upheaval of Graham's life. Evicted from his city flat thanks to the antics of his newly acquired, mischievous otter, Graham embarks on a train journey to the Scottish Highlands. Suffice it to say that trying to smuggle Mij onboard as a "diving terrier" is not successful. When the pair finally arrives in Scotland, they fall in love with the countryside and a dilapidated cottage by the sea. Fate introduces Graham to the town's animal-loving doctor (Virginia McKenna), and an enduring friendship and romance are forged. The photography of both the Scottish Highlands and the antics of Mij the otter in this 1969 movie are truly wonderful--it might just make you reconsider your current digs and friendships. The story (based on Gavin Maxwell's book of the same name) is somewhat formulaic and dated by its romanticism, but enjoyable nonetheless. Slip into an ideal world of simple happiness and celebrate the cyclical nature of life, if only for 106 minutes. (Ages 5 and older) --Tami Horiuchi
Pages of this website are:
the indexpage
the text on the sleeve-jacket
Gavin Maxwell's foreword
the otterpictures
what the critics said
the 'thank you' poem
a lonely cottage
my own pictures
The Rocks Remain
links to ot(t/h)ers