Dorothy Dunnett. Photo courtesy of the Dorothy Dunnett Society.
Born Dorothy Halliday on August 25th 1923, Dunnett is best known as a writer of historical fiction. Her first book, Game of Kings, was published in 1961, and was the first of the six novel series the Lymond Chronicles. Set in the mid-sixteenth century, the books feature Scottish nobleman Francis Crawford of Lymond.
This was followed by a prequel sequence of eight novels titled The House of Niccolò, and the Johnson Johnson series of contemporary mystery novels.
Lauded by The Times as 'the best writer in the genre since Sir Walter Scott', Dunnett was also an acclaimed portrait painter. Her fiction is now garnering new audiences and renewed critical attention.
To celebrate the centenary, members of the Dorothy Dunnett Society have reflected on items in the archive. Read the articles below.