Francis Crawford tops poll to find best character

Scottish author Dorothy Dunnett. Picture: TSPL

Francis Crawford, from her books the Lymond Chronicles, beat competition from the likes of Ian Rankin’s Inspector Rebus, JK Rowling’s boy wizard Harry Potter, Begbie, the fearsome psychopath from Irvine Welsh’s Trainspotting and Chris Guthrie, the heroine in Lewis Grassic Gibbon’s A Scots Quair.

The charismatic Crawford’s adventures across Europe unfolded in the Fife-born writer’s books between 1961 and 1975. They became her best-known works after she was at first rejected by five UK publishers.

Despite the young 16th-century nobleman making his first appearance more than half a century ago, he emerged as the clear winner, ahead of Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes and Dame Muriel Spark’s Miss Jean Brodie.

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Hermione Granger, in sixth place, beat her fellow wizard Harry Potter in the poll, which saw the Potter character draw in joint ninth with comic strip favourite Oor Wullie.

The findings of the survey – released to coincide with Scotland’s national celebration of the written word – revealed Crawford garnered more than 100 votes more than Welsh’s Begbie, who edged Rebus into third place by just one vote.

Some 3,150 votes were cast in the Scottish Book Trust’s survey, which attracted interest from 28 countries from the US to Qatar.

The trust conducted a similar survey last year to find the nation’s favourite novel, but sparked controversy by limiting voters to the past 50 years, ruling out the first Francis Crawford novel, The Game of Kings, and The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.

Welsh’s Trainspotting, his best-selling portrayal of heroin addicts in Edinburgh, was voted the overall winner, ahead of Alasdair Gray’s Lanark, and the Rebus thriller Black and Blue.

Marc Lambert, director of the Scottish Book Trust, said: “Francis Crawford of Lymond may be an unknown name to many, but Dorothy Dunnett’s enduring popularity is testament to the strength of writing talent that we enjoy in Scotland. ”

With Hebridean schoolgirl Katie Morag in seventh place, there was a strong showing for “children’s books” in the survey, after they were excluded last year.

Mairi Hedderwick, Katie Morag’s creator, said: “All of 33 years old, she is now treading the television boards, but her first home will always be on the page.”

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