10 books about Glasgow that everyone should read Delve into the history and popular culture of Scotland’s largest city with our definitive list of the best books about […]

Delve into the history and popular culture of Scotland’s largest city with our definitive list of the best books about and set in Glasgow.

Lanark by Alasdair Gray

Written over a quarter of a century, Alasdair Gray’s Lanark is the story of two men with a mysterious connection.

The novel is partly set in pre-war Glasgow, and partly in the surrealist city of Unthank – a Glasgow-like place where there is no daylight.

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The novel is punctuated by Gray’s own illustrations, and has been compared to the works of George Orwell, Franz Kafka and Aldous Huxley.

No Mean City by Alexander McArthur and H Kingsley Long

Lauded as a definitive account of Glasgow life, this 1935 novel tells the story of Johnnie Stark, the ‘Razor King’ of the Gorbals.

Johnnie’s father is violent, his mother is downtrodden, and he has to make his own way in the world.

No Mean City was written by journalist H Kingsley Long, and an unemployed worker, Alexander McArthur.

The title was taken from a Biblical quotation, in which Paul the Apostle says that he is a citizen of Tarsus, which is “no mean city”.

The novel’s raw, truthful depictions of gangland life and working class struggles have made it a classic of Glasgow fiction.

Finding Peggy by Meg Henderson

This autobiography provides a vivid description of 1950s Glasgow, where Meg Henderson grew up as part of a large family.

When their old tenement collapsed, the family had to move to Blackhill, a district notorious for its sectarianism and gang warfare.

However, Meg’s mother and Aunt Peggy were wonderful, positive influences, keeping the young girl safe from her father’s abusive behaviour.

Tragically, Peggy endured an unhappy marriage and died in childbirth.

It was only years later that Meg would discover the truth behind her beloved aunt’s death.

The Dear Green Place by Archie Hind

The central character of The Dear Green Place is Mat Craig, a young, working-class Glaswegian with dreams of being an artist.

Set in the 1960s, the novel gives the reader a strong sense of the city at this time, with its beautiful descriptions bringing Glasgow to life.

Although Mat wants desperately to be a writer, his Calvinist upbringing holds him back, as well as his own insecurities and self-doubt.

Can he follow his creative instincts and also pay the bills?

Divided City by Theresa Breslin

Theresa Breslin’s young adult novel, Divided City, tackles the difficult subject of sectarianism in Glasgow, the home of Celtic and Rangers.

It follows two boys, Graham and Joe, who get mixed up in the conflict between Catholics and Protestants when Graham witnesses an act of violence.

In a city pulled apart by religion, culture and history, the pair must find their own way and their own answers.

Garnethill by Denise Mina

Denise Mina’s gritty crime thriller centres on Maureen O’Donnell, a psychiatric patient who has survived sexual abuse.

Maureen embarks upon a relationship with her therapist, Douglas, and decides to end it before discovering him dead in her living room.

Everyone suspects Maureen of killing Douglas, even her own mother, and she begins to doubt her own memory.

She needs to follow Douglas’s trail and find his killer before she herself is killed.

We Need To Talk About… by Kevin Bridges

Kevin Bridges was a comedy child prodigy, wowing his first audience at the age of 17.

At school, Bridges was shy and nervous, but found that he could make his classmates laugh.

His autobiography is full of witty one-liners, sharp social commentary and pure humour, giving readers an insight into Kevin’s Glasgow childhood and his journey to fame.

How Late It Was, How Late by James Kelman

This Booker Prize-winning novel is the tale of Sammy, a Glaswegian who is down on his luck.

His wallet and shoes have been stolen, his girlfriend has disappeared, and he has been beaten up by the police.

Sammy is questioned regarding a crime but the police won’t tell him what it is, his doctor won’t admit he has gone blind, and he can’t get disability compensation due to never-ending bureaucracy.

This bleak and darkly comic novel is both gripping and ultimately uplifting, and gives the reader a realistic picture of modern life in the city.

Glasgow: A History by Michael Meighan

In Michael Meighan’s history of Glasgow, he charts the city from its beginnings as a religious centre, and its heyday as the second city of the Empire, to its rebirth as a modern metropolis.

Meighan looks at the past and the present in order to create a full picture of Glasgow as a modern Scottish city, taking in the growth of the Church, industrialisation, and contemporary architecture on the way.

The Cutting Room by Louise Welsh

The protagonist of Louise Welsh’s stylish novel is Rilke, an eccentric auctioneer who comes across a collection of violent erotic photographs.

Rilke feels compelled to find out more about the deceased owner of the photographs, sending him down a dark path of discovery.

This journey will take him from the refined suburbs of Glasgow to the dingy bookies and porn shops in the city’s dark underbelly.