Whisky Galore is a novel written by Compton Mackenzie (1947) and was subsequently adapted for the cinema under the title Whisky Galore!. Sir Edward Montague Compton Mackenzie ( January 17, 1883, West Hartlepool, England – November 30, 1972 in Edinburgh Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States A farce is a Comedy written for the stage or film which aims to Entertain the audience by means of unlikely extravagant and improbable situations disguise and mistaken Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of Literature or Information &ndash the activity of making information available for public view Chatto and Windus has been since 1987 an Imprint of Random House, the publishers A novel (from Italian novella, Spanish novela, French nouvelle for "new" "news" or "short story Sir Edward Montague Compton Mackenzie ( January 17, 1883, West Hartlepool, England – November 30, 1972 in Edinburgh

Plot summary

During World War II, a cargo vessel (S. 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 S. Cabinet Minister) is wrecked off a remote Scottish island group — Great Todday and Little Todday — with fifty thousand cases of whisky aboard. Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Whisky (uisge-beatha or whiskey (uisce beatha or fuisce) refers to a broad category of Alcoholic beverages that are distilled from fermented Due to wartime rationing, the thirsty islanders had nearly run out of the "water of life" and see this as an unexpected godsend. They manage to salvage several hundred cases before the ship sinks. But it is not all clear sailing. They must thwart the efforts of the authorities to confiscate the liquor, particularly in the shape of misguided, pompous English Home Guard Captain Paul Waggett. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland The British Home Guard (initially "Local Defence Volunteers" or LDV, or in slang Look-Duck-Vanish, hence the name change was a defence A cat-and-mouse battle of wits ensues.

Although the wreck and the escapades over the whisky are at the centre of the story, there is also a lot of background detail about life in the Outer Hebrides, including e. The Outer Hebrides, ( officially known for local government purposes by the Gaelic name Na h-Eileanan Siar) comprise an island g. culture clashes between the Protestant island of Great Todday and the Roman Catholic island of Little Todday. Protestantism refers to the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated in the 16th century Protestant Reformation. (Mackenzie based the geography of these islands on Barra and Eriskay respectively, but in real life they are both Catholic islands). The Isle of Barra or Barraigh/Eilean Bharraigh (in Scottish Gaelic) is a predominantly Gaelic-speaking island and apart from the adjacent island of Vatersay Eriskay ( Scottish Gaelic: Eirisgeidh, from the Old Norse for "Eric's Isle" is an island of the Outer Hebrides in northern Scotland There are various sub-plots, e. g. two couples who want to get married.

Mackenzie's prose captures the various accents of the area and also includes much common Gaelic that was in use at the time. Scottish Gaelic ( Gàidhlig) is a member of the Goidelic branch of Celtic languages. The book comes with a useful glossary of both the meaning and approximate pronunciation of the language.

Origins of the story

Prince's Beach, Eriskay

The story was based on a real-life incident that occurred in 1941 on the Hebridean island of Eriskay when the S.S. Politician ran aground. See also Hebrides (disambiguation The Hebrides (ˈhɛbrɨˌdiːz "HEB-ri-deez" Gaelic: Innse Gall) comprise a widespread and diverse The SS Politician was an 8000-tonne cargo ship owned by T & J Harrison of Liverpool which left Liverpool on 3 February 1941, bound for Kingston The famous tale of how a group of local Scottish islanders raided a shipwreck for its consignment of 24,000 cases of whisky has grown into a legend. Some of this whisky was salvaged 50 years later and marketed in the United States by Phillip Silverstone. Phillip Silverstone (August 9 1952 - has been an influence in the Wine industry since he first arrived in the USA from London in 1977.

Official files released recently by the Public Records Office show that it was also carrying a sum of hard cash. In all, there were nearly 290,000 ten-shilling notes, which would be worth the equivalent of several million pounds at today's prices. The shilling is a unit of Currency used in current and former Commonwealth countries and was continued to be used in countries that left the commonwealth Not all of this was recovered from the wreck.