{"id":15360,"date":"2025-10-07T17:46:56","date_gmt":"2025-10-07T17:46:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hebridespeople.com\/?post_type=product&p=15360"},"modified":"2026-03-19T15:03:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T15:03:11","slug":"the-gravity-of-feathers-by-andrew-fleming","status":"publish","type":"product","link":"https:\/\/hebridespeople.com\/gd\/product\/the-gravity-of-feathers-by-andrew-fleming\/","title":{"rendered":"The Gravity of Feathers by Andrew Fleming"},"content":{"rendered":"

It has long been accepted that the islanders\u2019 failure to adapt to the modern world was its demise. Andrew Fleming overturns the traditional view. Unafraid of highlighting dark times, he shows how they sacrificed their reputation as an uncorrupted, ideal society to embrace and exploit the tourist trade. Creating a prestigious tweed, exporting the ancestors of today\u2019s Hebridean sheep, the islanders gained access to consumer goods and learned how to play politics to their advantage.<\/p>\n

This book tells the absorbing and eventful story of St Kilda from earliest times, up to the evacuation and its aftermath. Previously untapped sources and fresh insights bring to life the personalities, feelings, attitudes and rich culture of the islanders themselves, as well as the numerous outsiders who engaged with the remote island community.<\/p>\n

Andrew Fleming<\/span>\u00a0specialises in prehistory and landscape archaeology. He taught at Sheffield University for 27 years and then at the University of Wales Trinity St David.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Hardback<\/p>\n

ISBN 978-1-78027-881-0<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Shortlisted for The Wolfson History Prize.<\/h3>\n

Discover the true story of St. Kilda.<\/span><\/p>\n

When the last 36 inhabitants of St Kilda, 40 miles west of the Scottish Hebrides, were evacuated in 1930, the archipelago at \u2018the edge of the world\u2019 lost its permanent population after five millennia.<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":15361,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_editorskit_title_hidden":false,"_editorskit_reading_time":0,"_editorskit_is_block_options_detached":false,"_editorskit_block_options_position":"{}"},"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[549,467,553],"product_tag":[46],"class_list":{"0":"post-15360","1":"product","2":"type-product","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"product_cat-books","7":"product_cat-history","8":"product_cat-st-kilda-books","9":"product_tag-st-kilda","11":"first","12":"instock","13":"shipping-taxable","14":"purchasable","15":"product-type-simple"},"yoast_head":"\nThe Gravity of Feathers by Andrew Fleming - Hebrides People<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hebridespeople.com\/gd\/product\/the-gravity-of-feathers-by-andrew-fleming\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Gravity of Feathers by Andrew Fleming - Hebrides People\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Shortlisted for The Wolfson History Prize. 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