Books with author Jane Mackay

Robbie has disappeared. And, since he'd been asking Saul a lot of questions about time travel, Saul has a good idea where he might have gone... At school they've been doing a project on the future: will it be full of robots and shiny technology? Or will the environment have been destroyed? The last thing Saul wants to do is go there and find out for sure -- but there's no way Robbie will manage on his own in the twenty-second century. The third book in Janis Makay’s much-loved Time Traveller series, set in Peebles in the Scottish borders, takes the reader to an unpredictable and exciting future filled with thought-provoking discoveries. What does the future hold in store, and can Saul get Robbie safely back to their own time?

If Saul and Agnes don't do something their den will be destroyed. But the title deeds that could save it were lost in 1914. Good job they know the secret of time travel!Still, is travelling back in time to a world on the verge of war really a good idea? When Agnes disappears Saul has no choice -- he can't let her go to the past on her own.100 years before their own time, Saul and Agnes meet a brother and sister, servants at a big house where a sinister visitor is expected. Together the new friends try to uncover the mystery but Saul and Agnes know time is running out. Soon a war will begin: can they risk altering the past, the present and their future?This fun, time-twisting sequel to The Accidental Time Traveller -- winner of the Scottish Children's Book Award 2013 -- is full of historical details about World War One and will bring early-twentieth-century Scotland to life for young readers.

Winner of the Scottish Children's Book Award 2013 Younger Readers (8-11 years) category. I'm not mad, ok? I know this sounds off the wall, but I was just walking to the corner shop and this girl almost got hit by a car. She grabbed hold of me and told me her name's Agatha Black and she's here from the past. At first I thought she was nuts but maybe it's true. She doesn't get traffic, she's freaked out by photos and she's terrified of TV. And she knows about the past -- body snatchers, making fires, and pet monkeys. Her dad does a bit of time travel. But obviously, he's not very good at it. I mean, he got her lost. Now it's me that has to get her back ? to 1812!

Allan Pinkerton Around the world, his name is synonymous with security and protection. The legendary agency he began nearly one hundred and fifty years ago is still in operation today, as are many of the surveillance and infiltration techniques he originated. His company's trademark symbol, a large, unblinking eye, inspired the term private eye. As befits a man who spent so much of his life working behind the scenes, Allan Pinkerton's life has been shaded in mystery and misinformation. Now, after a decade of painstaking research, award-winning biographer James Mackay pierces the web of contradictions, half-truths, and myths to reveal, for the first time, the true story of the life and career of this colorful, complex, and controversial man. Born in Scotland, Allan Pinkerton arrived in America with a solitary silver dollar in his pocket and―as legend has it―the law hot on his heels. A cooper by trade, he might have spent his life making barrels but for a fateful trip in the summer of 1846. On an uninhabited island, where he had gone to cut saplings for barrel staves, Pinkerton happened upon a thicket where a blackened patch suggested a recent fire. To Pinkerton, it also suggested something was amiss. In what became his very first case, the young cooper employed his acute powers of deductive reasoning, patience, and perseverance that would become the hallmarks of his modus operandi. His dogged determination (and several damp, cold, lonely nocturnal vigils) paid off when a gang of counterfeiters was discovered. The modern detective was born. Through four decades of tumultuous history, Allan Pinkerton left an indelible mark. From the Underground Railroad to the Chicago underworld to Pennsylvania and the civil unrest of the notorious Molly Maguires, he took on bandits, bank robbers, kidnappers, spies, and even Jesse James himself. His role in the Civil War was critical: as Lincoln's spymaster, he managed a network of spies who worked behind Confederate lines and tackled espionage at the highest levels in Washington itself. In particular, James Mackay's scrupulously balanced account challenges the conventional view of the controversy surrounding Pinkerton's role in the Peninsular campaign of 1862. Was poor intelligence responsible for prolonging the war? A man of firm beliefs and principles, Allan Pinkerton could be a fair-minded employer―and an absolute tyrant as a husband and father. As intriguing as any of the detective's countless cases, Allan Pinkerton: The First Private Eye is a masterful look at an extraordinary figure, filled with the rich, revealing details that distinguish the best biographies. "James Mackay, the award-winning biographer of Robert Burns, is the first historian to attempt to shade in both the darker and lighter sides of Pinkerton, and the result is the tightest and most reliable account so far, a portrait of a man at once deeply admirable and quite obnoxious." ―The Times (London). "A fair-minded and thorough analysis of a complex and contradictory man . . . an impressive look at the life of Pinkerton." ―The Daily Telegraph (London).

In My End Is My Beginning is the story of Mary Queen of Scots (1542–87), the tragic heroine par excellence. Queen of an unfamiliar and troubled nation when she was a week old, it was her misfortune to be a pawn in the game of international politics throughout her life. Even in the brief period from 1561 to 1567 when she was ruler of Scotland in fact as well as in name, she was beset with problems that would have defeated a much stronger, more experienced monarch. A talented poet and a charismatic leader, she contended with a treacherous, self-serving nobility, the religious ferment of the Reformation, and the political ambitions of larger and more powerful neighbours. With little real authority and few resources, Mary’s reign was successful, until her disastrous marriage to the dissolute Darnley set in motion the events that brought about her downfall. For the last 20 years of her life she was a prisoner in the hands of her cousin, Elizabeth I of England, and the subject of treacherous plots and conspiracies. A hostage to fortune, she represented a threat and a rallying-point for English Catholics. Her tragic end was inevitable. Yet her life, with all its adventurous, failures and disasters, produced the son – James – who ultimately brought about the union of Scotland and England.In the End Is My Beginning uncovers the true facts of Mary’s life in the context of Anglo-Scottish relations and shows why, after more than 400 years, she remains arguably the greatest character in popular Scottish history.

There has always been something unusual about Magnus Fin, a school misfit. On his eleventh birthday Magnus throws a message in a bottle out to sea, wishing for a best friend and to be more brave -- and he gets a lot more than he bargained for. Magnus discovers that he is half selkie -- part seal, part human -- and his selkie family urgently need his help. Can Magnus save his new-found family from the evil force threatening all the ocean's creatures? And will he find the friend he has always dreamed of?

On his eleventh birthday, schoolboy Magnus Fin found out that he was half selkie -- part human, part seal. Although he looks like a boy and lives on land, he can breathe underwater. When Magnus Fin discovers his initials scratched into the rocks by the shore and finds dead seals washed up on the beach, he knows his selkie family needs his help, and he dives down beneath the waves to find out more. The great seal sickness has struck and his grandmother Miranda is dangerously ill. But Magnus Fin is sure there's another reason for their affliction. He sets out to reveal the truth, with just his moonstone, his last baby tooth and some seaweed from Neptune's garden for luck. Little does he know that his best friend Tarkin, who can't swim, is determined to join him on this perilous mission. This is the exciting sequel to Kelpie Prize-winning Magnus Fin and the Ocean Quest.

Winner of the Scottish Children's Book Award One ordinary day, Saul is on his way to the corner shop when a girl appears suddenly in the middle of the road. She doesn't understand traffic, or the things in shops, and she's wearing a long dress with ruffled sleeves. Her name is Agatha Black. Agatha Black is from 1812, and Saul needs to find a way to get her back there. With help from his friends Will and Robbie, he tries to work out how to make time travel happen. This pacy, time-travelling adventure from Janis Mackay, author of the Magnus Fin series, is full of funny misunderstandings and gripping action.

Robbie has disappeared. And, since he'd been asking Saul a lot of questions about time travel, Saul has a good idea where he might have gone... At school they've been doing a project on the future: will it be full of robots and shiny technology? Or will the environment have been destroyed? The last thing Saul wants to do is go there and find out for sure -- but there's no way Robbie will manage on his own in the twenty-second century. The third book in Janis Makay's much-loved Time Traveller series, set in Peebles in the Scottish borders, takes the reader to an unpredictable and exciting future filled with thought-provoking discoveries. What does the future hold in store, and can Saul get Robbie safely back to their own time?

There has always been something unusual about Magnus Fin, a school misfit. On his eleventh birthday Magnus throws a message in a bottle out to sea, wishing for a best friend and to be more brave -- and he gets a lot more than he bargained for. Magnus discovers that he is half selkie -- part seal, part human -- and his selkie family urgently need his help. Can Magnus save his new-found family from the evil force threatening all the ocean's creatures? And will he find the friend he has always dreamed of? Winner of the Kelpies Prize.

On his eleventh birthday, schoolboy Magnus Fin found out that he is half selkie -- part human, part seal. Although he looks like a boy and lives on land, he can breathe underwater. When a rusty metal chest is flung ashore in a storm, Magnus Fin decides to investigate. But he injures his hand on the strange box, and his sealskin starts to show through. His teacher realizes that there's something very unusual about Magnus Fin -- and rumors start to spread. Deep in the ocean, the great sea god Neptune has problems of his own. The treasures of wisdom have been stolen, and his memory and powers are fading fast. Could his missing treasure be inside the chest that's been washed ashore? Magnus Fin is the only one who can find out and restore order under the sea. But a young journalist is investigating the rumours about 'fish people'. Can Magnus Fin complete his mission before the selkie secret is revealed and his selkie family are forced to leave the bay forever?

If Saul and Agnes don't do something their den will be destroyed. But the title deeds that could save it were lost in 1914. Good job they know the secret of time travel! Still, is traveling back in time to a world on the verge of war really a good idea? When Agnes disappears Saul has no choice -- he can't let her go to the past on her own. 100 years before their own time, Saul and Agnes meet a brother and sister, servants at a big house where a sinister visitor is expected. Together the new friends try to uncover the mystery but Saul and Agnes know time is running out. Soon a war will begin: can they risk altering the past, the present and their future? This fun, time-twisting sequel to The Accidental Time Traveller -- winner of the Scottish Children's Book Award 2013 -- is full of historical details about World War One and will bring early-twentieth-century Scotland to life for young readers.