Robin Jenkins (11 September 1912 - 24 February 2005) was a Scottish writer with about thirty novels to his name, although the only one known to a wide public is The Cone Gatherers. Events 9 - The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest ends 506 - The Bishops of Visigothic Gaul Year 1912 ( MCMXII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year starting Events 303 - Galerius, Roman Emperor, publishes his edict that begins the persecution of Christians in his portion of the Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Born John Jenkins, in 1912, his father died when he was only seven years old and he was brought up by his mother - on her own and with very little means. He attended Hamilton Academy. He was a conscientious objector in the Second World War, working in forestry. A conscientious objector (CO is an individual who on religious moral or ethical grounds refuses to participate as a combatant in war or in some cases to take any role that would support World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Upon the release of his first novel, 'So Gaily Sings the Lark', in 1951 he adopted the pseudonym 'Robin'.

Jenkins was also an English and History teacher. He taught at Riverside Secondary in Glasgow's East End and later at Dunoon Grammar School. Dunoon Grammar School is a secondary school in Dunoon, Argyll in Scotland. He also spent four formative years at the Gaya School in Sabah, Borneo, living there with his wife May and their children. Before that, he had held British Council teaching posts in both Kabul and Barcelona.

Although his best-known novel,'The Cone Gatherers', based upon his forestry work as a conscientious objector, is widely studied in the Scottish school system, he has a wealth of other material which is arguably better and more challenging. The Cone Gatherers (also The Cone-Gatherers) is a novel by the Scottish writer Robin Jenkins, first published in 1955 While 'The Cone Gatherers' has often been criticised as being devoid of any real sense of place, other novels such as 'The Thistle and the Grail', his 1954 football story, paint vivid pictures of more accessible settings. His writing typically touches on many themes, including morality, the struggle between good and evil, war, class, and social justice. These are often packed so tightly into one short novel that many levels of meaning are inherent throughout.

External links

• BBC page on Robin Jenkins
• Brian Mortons' appreciation of Jenkins' life
• Notes on The Cone Gatherers for students