The making of Orcadia

The gradual establishment of George Mackay Brown as Orkney's literary spokesman over the last four decades has instigated a revival of the Orcadian tradition in literature. In light of Paul Ricoeur's concept of narrative identity this study explores the correlations between Brown's work and the construction and maintenance of a distinct Orkney identity. It posits that communal identity derives from dynamic narrative processes merging fact and fiction into a story that is generally accepted as authentic in spite of its essentially mythic nature.