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Andro Linklater obituary Andro Linklater obituary
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The Scottish author Andro Linklater was fascinated by the relationship between people and land. His death at the age of 68 from a heart attack came while he was on the isle of Eigg, researching for a new book on the history of land ownership in the Hebrides. The originality he brought to the subject reflected his talents as a biographer and journalist – the effects of individuals' ideas were represented in terms graphic enough to be grasped readily.The Scottish author Andro Linklater was fascinated by the relationship between people and land. His death at the age of 68 from a heart attack came while he was on the isle of Eigg, researching for a new book on the history of land ownership in the Hebrides. The originality he brought to the subject reflected his talents as a biographer and journalist – the effects of individuals' ideas were represented in terms graphic enough to be grasped readily.
Measuring America (2002) explored how the US took the British measurement of a chain – 22 yards, the length of a cricket pitch or 1/80 of a mile – so that the Public Land Survey System could register land across the continent and make it saleable. Traditionally the rugged individual has been taken as the driving force of the young republic: Linklater showed how America's democracy and laws, its government, evolved in large part to support the property rights of those individuals.Measuring America (2002) explored how the US took the British measurement of a chain – 22 yards, the length of a cricket pitch or 1/80 of a mile – so that the Public Land Survey System could register land across the continent and make it saleable. Traditionally the rugged individual has been taken as the driving force of the young republic: Linklater showed how America's democracy and laws, its government, evolved in large part to support the property rights of those individuals.
The Fabric of America (2007) returned to Linklater's fascination with surveyors, illuminating Andrew Ellicott's central role in establishing the country's borders and boundaries – again deepening understanding of the nation's roots. Owning the Earth (published in Britain in January and in the US last week) chronicles the enormous impact on civilisation of private property, an idea revolutionary 500 years ago that now seems simple: the notion that "one person could own part of the earth exclusively". He puts forward the argument – through elegantly crafted stories of unknown settlers and famous figures alike – that varying forms of property ownership have a bearing on the different kinds of government to be found in America, Europe, Russia, China and the Arab world. The Fabric of America (2007) returned to Linklater's fascination with surveyors, illuminating Andrew Ellicott's central role in establishing the country's borders and boundaries – again deepening understanding of the nation's roots. Owning the Earth (published earlier this year) chronicles the enormous impact on civilisation of private property, an idea revolutionary 500 years ago that now seems simple: the notion that "one person could own part of the earth exclusively". He puts forward the argument – through elegantly crafted stories of unknown settlers and famous figures alike – that varying forms of property ownership have a bearing on the different kinds of government to be found in America, Europe, Russia, China and the Arab world.
Andro was born in Edinburgh, the youngest of four children of the novelist Eric Linklater and his wife, the former actor Marjorie McIntyre. He attended Belhaven Hill school in Dunbar, East Lothian, and then Winchester College, before studying modern history at New College, Oxford. "Neither school nor university offered him a settled compass," recalled his journalist brother Magnus, and he spent time tutoring in France, and then crossing America. From New York he went to Chicago – he was present at the historic Democratic National Convention in 1968 – and to San Francisco, where he worked in an art gallery. Andro was born in Edinburgh, the youngest of four children of the novelist Eric Linklater and his wife, the former actor Marjorie McIntyre. He attended Belhaven Hill school in Dunbar, East Lothian, and then Winchester college, before studying modern history at New College, Oxford. "Neither school nor university offered him a settled compass," recalled his journalist brother Magnus, and he spent time tutoring in France, and then crossing America. From New York he went to Chicago – he was present at the historic Democratic National Convention in 1968 – and to San Francisco, where he worked in an art gallery.
Back in Britain, he taught for some time in a London comprehensive school until he was asked to complete the history of the Black Watch regiment that his father had been writing at the time of his death in 1974. It was well received on publication three years later, and was followed by a successful children's book, Amazing Maisie and the Cold Porridge Brigade (1978), and biographies of the suffragette Charlotte Despard (1980) and the writer Compton MacKenzie (1987). Linklater wrote regularly for the Daily Telegraph and was for many years a book critic for the Spectator and a contributor to Prospect magazine. Back in Britain, he taught for some time in a London comprehensive school until he was asked to complete the history of the Black Watch regiment that his father had been writing at the time of his death in 1974. It was well received on publication three years later, and was followed by a successful children's book, Amazing Maisie and the Cold Porridge Brigade (1978), and biographies of the suffragette Charlotte Despard (1980) and the writer Compton Mackenzie (1987). Linklater wrote regularly for the Daily Telegraph and was for many years a book critic for the Spectator and a contributor to Prospect magazine.
From his youth, Linklater had relished physical adventures, and his next book, Wild People (1990), colourfully recounts his time living with a tribe of head-hunters in Sarawak, one of the two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. The Code of Love (2001) was a previously untold second world war story.From his youth, Linklater had relished physical adventures, and his next book, Wild People (1990), colourfully recounts his time living with a tribe of head-hunters in Sarawak, one of the two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. The Code of Love (2001) was a previously untold second world war story.
I first encountered Linklater through the proposal he put forward for Measuring America, and immediately offered him a publishing contract. What made the prospect of the book compelling was his love of – in the words of the eminent American historian David McCullough – "the adventure of ideas". Following The Fabric of America, Linklater continued to display his fascination with the years around 1800 with An Artist in Treason (2009), a biography of James Wilkinson, the American general who also acted as an agent for Spain; and Why Spencer Perceval Had to Die (2012), his reconstruction of the only assassination of a British prime minister.I first encountered Linklater through the proposal he put forward for Measuring America, and immediately offered him a publishing contract. What made the prospect of the book compelling was his love of – in the words of the eminent American historian David McCullough – "the adventure of ideas". Following The Fabric of America, Linklater continued to display his fascination with the years around 1800 with An Artist in Treason (2009), a biography of James Wilkinson, the American general who also acted as an agent for Spain; and Why Spencer Perceval Had to Die (2012), his reconstruction of the only assassination of a British prime minister.
In 1987, he married the photographer Marie-Louise Avery, and they settled in Markbeech, south-west of Sevenoaks in Kent. He was an enthusiastic member of the choir of Holy Trinity church there and immersed himself in local causes, his enthusiasm and sense of humour giving wings to a host of ideas and initiatives. In 1987, he married the photographer Marie-Louise Avery, and they settled in Markbeech, a village in Kent. He was an enthusiastic member of the choir of Holy Trinity church there and immersed himself in local causes, his enthusiasm and sense of humour giving wings to a host of ideas and initiatives.
He is survived by Marie-Louise, Magnus, and his sisters Alison and Kristin. He is survived by Marie-Louise, Magnus and his sisters, Alison and Kristin.
• Andro Ian Robert Linklater, writer, born 10 December 1944; died 3 November 2013• Andro Ian Robert Linklater, writer, born 10 December 1944; died 3 November 2013
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