Helen Graham In Conversation (The Real Mackay)

Join us at Heron & Willow as we welcome a very special guest, author Helen Graham. Helen will be discussing her debut novel The Real Mackay: Walter Scott's Favourite Comedian​.

Night after night jostling crowds clamour for entry to Edinburgh’s Theatre Royal with one name on their lips: The Real Mackay. But who is he?
The answer leaps off the page in this meticulously researched historical novel which plunges the reader into the golden era of Scottish national theatre, seen through the eyes of Charles Mackay and his family.

Walter Scott’s favourite comedian dazzles and delights packed audiences across nineteenth-century Scotland for decades, bringing laughter to thousands, including the king. But behind his hilarious stage antics is a man grieving for the women he loses, all of them dying tragically young – his mother, his wife, his daughter.

In the grip of unstoppable momentum, his extraordinary popularity casting long shadows over those he loves, will he be forced to choose between fame and family?

I found the entire story enthralling – I read it with fascination and delight.
Brian Taylor –TV broadcaster and journalist


A triumph of research and imagination
John Mackay – STV NEWS anchor


Clearly a labour of love, I enjoyed it very much
Maggie Craig, historical fiction author


An utterly enthralling, moving book, recreating another world. I heartily recommend it.
Professor Sir Iain Torrance