The Girl of the Ferryboat

A lyrical, haunting and beautifully crafted novel about missed chances, memory and the love that might have been.

Angus Peter Campbell’s acclaimed novel drifts between recollection and longing, capturing one final, shimmering summer on the Isle of Mull.

About the Ebook

The Girl on the Ferryboat is a novel steeped in longing, memory and the ache of paths not taken. A chance encounter on a ferry during a long, hot summer becomes the hinge on which a lifetime of regret turns — a moment that might have changed everything, had it unfolded differently.

Looking back across decades, the narrator reflects on what could have been: the world they might have created together, the love that might have flourished, the life that slipped away before it ever began. The novel becomes a mirage of recollections — vivid, dreamlike and suffused with the bittersweet haze of one final prelapsarian summer on the Isle of Mull.

Beautifully written, richly atmospheric and emotionally resonant, this is one of Angus Peter Campbell’s most celebrated works — a meditation on time, chance and the fragile threads that shape our lives.

Critical Praise

"Exceptionally good… among the best pieces of narrative literary fiction to have emerged from Scotland in the 21st century… beautifully written… can be read simply as a love story… the gorgeous bittersweet tone."
— Review On Books

"Lyrical, digressive and ornate English."
— Scotland on Sunday

"Campbell’s writing is transcendently beautiful… a delight in any language."
— Scotland on Sunday

"Unlikely but memorable love story."
— Daily Mail

"One of the best novels of this millennium in any language."
— Dear Scotland

Why You'll Love This Ebook

• A luminous, poetic novel from one of Scotland’s most celebrated writers.
• A powerful exploration of memory and regret set against the beauty of Mull.
• Perfect for readers of literary fiction and reflective, emotionally rich storytelling.
• Widely praised as one of the finest Scottish novels of the century.
• A standout Luath Press title showcasing the best of contemporary Scottish writing.

About the Author

Angus Peter Campbell is a native of South Uist and grew up between the Outer Hebrides and the Island of Seil. A graduate of the University of Edinburgh, he has become one of Scotland’s most acclaimed literary voices, writing in both English and Gaelic.

His work has received numerous honours, including the Bardic Crown from An Comunn Gàidhealach, the Scottish Poetry Book of the Year Award, and the Scottish Fiction Book of the Year Award. His Gaelic novel An Oidhche Mus do Sheòl Sinn was voted into the Top Ten Best‑Ever Scottish Novels. He has been described by Dr Anne Lorne Gillies as “an international literary figure alongside Gabriel García Márquez, Toni Morrison and Laura Esquivel”.

Publication Details

Publisher: Luath Press

Publication Date: May 2026 (CD edition) — Ebook edition available now

Print Length: — (Ebook edition)

ISBN (Ebook): 9781909912564

Format: Ebook

Language: English

Categories: Fiction / Literary Fiction / Scottish Fiction

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