1924 The Able McLaughlins

 1924

The Able McLaughlins

by Margaret Wilson

262 pages

Summary

This book is virtually forgotten today, probably for three reasons. First, the author uses Scottish dialect for dialogue, which makes for slow reading. Second, the plot revolves around the rape of a young woman, but the word “rape” is never used anywhere in the book. Third, following the rape, the author’s focus lies not on the woman’s reaction, but on how the man in her life will cope with the terrible aftermath. However, the book was praised in its day for its folkloric detail.

Christie McNair is part of a strict Scots Covenanters community in Iowa. She is engaged to Wully, and her cousin Peter is the town low-life. After Wully leaves to fight in the Civil War, Peter rapes Christie. Christie is pregnant when Wully returns from war. The focus of the novel is how Wully will deal with Peter and how Wully's life is now changed. Wully chases Peter out of town. He is committed to marrying Christie, but in doing so, Wully assumes the public guilt for their supposed pre-marital sex. This smirch is a real blow to his standing in their highly religious community. Peter eventually worms his way back to town. Wully must decide whether to forgive Peter or to seek vengeance. A side plot tries to lend a comic touch to this dark plot. Christie’s unbearable stepmother, who traveled from Scotland to Iowa to marry Christie's father, is sniffily disappointed with the size of the McNair house.

Adaptations

No movie or play was made of this book. The copyright evidently was allowed to run out. You can find the audio version on the open-source website Libra Vox. The book was popular enough in its day that Wilson wrote a sequel, The Law and the McLaughlins.

Related Activities

If you have a Scottish surname, search for your clan's tartan through this Scottish Museum in North Carolina: 

http://www.tartansauthority.com/tartan-ferret/

Find a place to celebrate Robert Burns’ birthday, January 25. Many Robert Burns events take place around the country. His birthday night is marked by poetry readings, singing, and traditional Scots food, including that most curious of delicacies, haggis. In Chicago the dinner has been celebrated at Martyrs (3855 N. Lincoln) and The Peckish Pig (623 Howard St., Evanston). Follow the links below for details:

https://thirdcoastreview.com/2016/01/24/where-to-celebrate-burns-night-in-chicago/

If you prefer to celebrate Scots culture in the sunshine, visit one of the many Highland Games that take place outdoors in the US. Although one of the largest festivals is held in North Carolina, many states host Highland Games in the spring and summer. 

http://www.scottishfestivalchicago.org

If you wish to stick more faithfully to the history in the book, you can drive about the small towns of southeastern Iowa, where many Scots Covenanters settled and built their Presbyterian churches. 


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