Allan Massie

Allan Massie
Born	(1938-10-16) October 16, 1938 Singapore
Occupation(s)	Author, journalist, columnist, sports commentator
Known for	Historical novels, literary criticism, sports journalism
Notable work	Augustus, A Question of Loyalties, The Sins of the Fathers, The Thistle and the Rose

Allan Johnstone Massie (born 16 October 1938) is a Scottish author, journalist, columnist, and sports commentator. He holds fellowship status with the Royal Society of Literature and has lived in the Scottish Borders region for more than a quarter-century, currently residing in Selkirk.

Early life

Massie was born in Singapore while his father was employed as a rubber planter for Sime Darby. He grew up in Aberdeenshire and received his education at Drumtochty Castle preparatory school followed by Glenalmond College in Perthshire. He later pursued a degree in history at Trinity College, Cambridge.

Journalist

Massie contributes regular columns to The Scotsman, The Sunday Times (Scotland edition), and the Scottish edition of the Daily Mail. For 25 years, he served as the chief fiction reviewer for The Scotsman. His sports coverage includes rugby union and cricket, and his writings have appeared in outlets such as The Daily Telegraph, Glasgow Herald, and the Sunday Standard. Additionally, his work features in publications like The Spectator, Literary Review, The Independent, Catholic Herald, and the New York Review of Books.

A supporter of conservative politics, Massie was against the 1997 Scottish devolution referendum and has expressed criticism toward various laws enacted by the Scottish Parliament. Although he initially backed devolution in 1979, his stance changed during the era of Thatcher.

In terms of literary criticism, he prefers conventional narrative novels rather than experimental or avant-garde literature. As a former president of the Sir Walter Scott Club, he holds Sir Walter Scott in high regard and promotes modern writers such as Andreï Makine and William McIlvanney. While he has critiqued authors like Irvine Welsh and James Kelman, he recognizes Kelman’s important role in voicing marginalized social perspectives.

Novelist

Massie has written close to thirty books, including around twenty novels. His focus tends to be on historical eras and middle-class experiences rather than contemporary gritty realism. Among his most commercially successful works are fictionalized autobiographies or biographies centered on Roman political figures such as Augustus, Tiberius, Mark Antony, Caesar, Caligula, and heirs of Nero. Praised by Gore Vidal as a "master of the long-ago historical novel," his most recent publication is The Thistle and the Rose, a collection of essays advocating a robust Unionist viewpoint regarding Scotland-England relations.

His 1989 novel A Question of Loyalties, set during Vichy France, earned the Saltire Society's Scottish Book of the Year award. The 1991 novel The Sins of the Fathers stirred controversy when judge Nicholas Mosley resigned from the Booker Prize panel, objecting that none of his preferred books—including Massie's—were shortlisted; instead, Martin Amis’s Time's Arrow secured a place.

Together with Shadows of Empire, these novels loosely form a trilogy addressing the perils of idealism and ideology alongside personal integrity amid turbulent political circumstances.

In 2009, Massie released Surviving, described as a "private novel" exploring ethical questions through the lives of English-speaking alcoholics living in Rome. Although set during the 1990s, it draws on his own experiences from Italy in the 1970s.

His 2010 release Death in Bordeaux returns to themes related to Vichy France and initiates a trilogy.

Beyond fiction, Massie has produced critical studies on authors like Muriel Spark and Colette, written histories of Edinburgh and Glasgow, and authored A Portrait of Scottish Rugby. He was honored with a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) distinction in 2013 for his literary contributions.

All-time Scotland XV

An avid rugby enthusiast and writer, Massie assembled an all-time Scotland XV team in 1984. His selection excludes players active before 1951 due to lack of personal observation and those still playing after his publication date (mid-1980s), thus omitting most members from the 1990 Grand Slam squad.

His backline choices feature players like Andy Irvine, Arthur Smith, Jim Renwick, Ken Scotland, and Roger Baird. The half-back positions were filled by John Rutherford and Roy Laidlaw. Forwards included notable names such as Hugh McLeod, Colin Deans, Sandy Carmichael, Gordon Brown, Alastair McHarg, Douglas Elliot, captain Jim Telfer, and David Leslie.

Reserves encompassed distinguished players including Jock Turner, David Chisholm, and Alex Hastie. Other prominent contenders like Ian Laughland and Ian McGeechan were considered but ultimately not selected for this lineup.

Awards

Among Massie's accolades are the Scottish Arts Council Book Award for The Death of Men (1982) and the Frederick Niven Literary Award for The Last Peacock (1980).

Novels

• Change and Decay in All Around I See (1978)
• The Last Peacock (1980)
• The Death of Men (1981)
• One Night in Winter (1984)
• Augustus (1986)
• A Question of Loyalties (1989)
• The Hanging Tree (1990)
• Tiberius (1991)
• The Sins of the Father (1991)
• Caesar (1993)
• These Enchanted Woods (1993) – sequel to The Last Peacock
• The Ragged Lion (1994)
• King David (1995)
• Shadows of Empire (1997)
• Antony (1997)
• Nero's Heirs (1999)
• The Evening of the World (2001)
• Caligula (2003)
• Arthur the King (2004)
• Charlemagne and Roland (2007)
• Surviving (2009)
• Klaus: and other stories (2010)
• Bordeaux series: Death in Bordeaux (2010), Dark Summer in Bordeaux (2012), Cold Winter in Bordeaux (2014), End Games in Bordeaux (2015)

Non-fiction

• Muriel Spark (1979)
• Ill Met by Gaslight: Five Edinburgh Murders (1980)
• The Caesars (1983)
• City profiles: Aberdeen: Portrait of a City (1984), Glasgow: Portraits of a City (1989), Edinburgh’’'’(1994)
• Sports & culture: A Portrait of Scottish Rugby’’'’(1984), 101 Great Scots’’'’(1987), Byron's Travels’’'’(1988)
• Economics & health: The Novelist's View of the Market Economy’’, How Should Health Services be Financed?: A Patient's View’’, both published in 1988
• Literary analysis: The Novel Today: A Critical Guide to the British Novel, 1970-1989’’'’(1990)
• History & heritage: The History of Selkirk Merchant Company 1694-1994’’, The Thistle and the Rose: Six Centuries of Love and Hate Between the Scots and the English’’, and The Royal Stuarts: A History of the Family That Shaped Britain’’, spanning years 1994–2010
• Biography: Colette’’'’(1986)

Edited volumes

• Edinburgh and the Borders: In Verse’’ (1983)
• P.E.N. New Fiction II’’ (1987)

Columns and critiques

Massie penned the "The History Man" series for Scots Heritage Magazine, including a 2014 article focused on the Edinburgh International Festival. Additionally, he wrote literary critiques, notably his 2008 evaluation of Alexander William Kinglake's Eothen’’ published in The Spectator.

Critical reception

Among the notable reviews is Dave McKie's 1980 critique of The Last Peacock’’ featured in Cencrastus’’.

Additional reading

Significant scholarly works include Lindsay Paterson’s 1982 analysis titled "Language and Society: The Novels of Allan Massie," as well as a 2001 profile found in Tom Bryan’s edited collection, The Eildon Tree’’.