Debatable Land

This article is about novel by Candia McWilliam. For lands contested between England and Scotland in the 13th–17th centuries, see Debatable Lands.

First edition (publ. Bloomsbury)

Debatable Land is a Guardian Fiction Prize-winning novel by Scottish author Candia McWilliam. The novel seeks to raise questions about the direction in which Britain (and more specifically the devolution project) is moving in the 21st century. The title refers to the debatable lands, land lying between Scotland and England when they were distinct kingdoms which perennially switched between English and Scots rule, before becoming an independent lawless territory ruled by warring clans. Set on a boat on the beautifully evoked South Pacific, the relations between the characters mirror contemporary devolutionary debates between the constitutive British states, particularly the relationship between England and Scotland.