She was wearing a white frock and a large straw hat with a sapphire-blue ribbon which exactly matched her eyes—a strange coincidence, as it turned out, for the blue sapphire was to have a far-reaching influence upon her life. So far, her life had been somewhat dull and circumscribed; but quite suddenly her horizons were enlarged; she began to make new friends—and enemies—and she began to discover new strength and purpose in her own nature. The development of her character led her into strange adventures, some amusing, others full of sorrow and distress... D. E. Stevenson was born in Edinburgh, the daughter, granddaughter and great-granddaughter of civil engineers who designed many Scottish lighthouses. Her father was a first cousin of Robert Louis Stevenson. She was educated privately and travelled widely in France and Italy with her parents. She married a major in the Highland Light Infantry and moved with the regiment from place to place gaining valuable experience of life and people. Her first really successful novel, Mrs Tim, was published in 1933.

    Mrs Swire has spent most of her life in the North and her book portrays the life and spirit of the land as it was before the enormous changes wrought in the last forty years. It deals chiefly with the counties of Inverness, Ross and Cromarty and Sutherland, though Nairn and Forres are included. To make it of more interest to visitors, all the stories and facts have been strung on the roads, as on a necklace, each "bead", whether loch, castle or town, having its own stories and legends. The whole has been given a sufficient background of history and modern fact to make it easily read and appreciated. In it will be found such diverse characters as Druids, early saints, giants good and bad, a tragic bride, gnomes who fled from the first train, a waterhorse who desired a chimney, heroes old and new, the Little People, birds and beasts and the green fairy dogs. Many of the stories have not before been published.