Early in Orcadia

The Orkney Islands in Scotland are the core of ancient Britain, famous for its Neolithic heritage, which dates back 6,000 years. The ancient ruins and rich scenery of the islands, fringed by the volatile North Sea, enable the imagination to run wild, and few writers have harnessed that creative energy as successfully as Naomi Mitchison, whose Early in Orcadia (1987) travels back to prehistoric Orkney. While the people of Mitchison's ancient planet struggle to earn a living on the islands, two of them build a sailing ship and set off. Early in Orcadia is a narrative of adventure, suffering, and survival that provides a unique viewpoint on ancient Orkney.

Early in Orcadia was first published in 1987 and consists of five stories placed hundreds of years apart in time and dealing with various individuals, but all situated in a specific region of Orkney during the Stone Age. Mitchison connects them officially by interpolating passages of truth and explanation between the fictional scenes, and by speculating in her own voice on what occurred in prehistory, as far as archaeological study can tell us, and how it fits into today's reality.

The slightly jarring leaps from one narrative to the next show that human evolution was not a fully smooth and flawless process. There must have been pivotal instances when a big discovery or innovation occurred. The book's structure demonstrates its subject, which is that there are startling developments but only one tale running from the beginning to the present day, and that story is the story of humanity.

Detailed information:
Author: Naomi Mitchison
Genre: Historical, fiction
Published: 1987
Link to read: goodreads.com/book/show/4668285-early-in-orcadia