The Scottish Heart

A collection of three novels by Jim Ellis, now available in one volume!

One Summer: In mid-20th century Scotland, Nathan Forrest, a gifted jazz trumpeter and devout Catholic, falls in love with Dorothy, a Protestant girl from a middle-class family. Against the backdrop of Westburn's doomed shipyards, they must confront the prejudices and hate of their society in order to be together. But will their love be enough to overcome the religious and social conflicts that threaten to tear them apart?

The Music Room: Set in 1950's Scotland, Tim Ronsard is a student at St. Mary's School, feeling unfulfilled and ready to leave. That is until music teacher Isobel Clieshman arrives, a Protestant in a Catholic school. Despite the age gap, Tim falls for her, but it isn't until five years later when they meet again that their romance blossoms. However, with societal prejudices and personal struggles to overcome, their journey towards happiness is a challenging one.

Westburn Blues: Dante Rinaldi, the son of Italian immigrants in Scotland, becomes entrenched in his family's homeland during a stranded summer with his grandfather in World War II Italy. As a young adult, Dante fights with a band of mountain partisans against the fascists. His experiences, including a delayed young love and post-war struggles in Scotland, lead him to cross paths with neglected adolescent Chris McCoull, who finds his own romance and purpose while working for a Greek-owned shipping line. This carefully researched and historically detailed novel depicts the Scottish-Italian experience with a cast of colorful characters, from sympathetic to truly evil.