Non-Fiction
As well as fiction, Rob McInroy has produced some works of non-fiction.
An Odious Campaign
The Ross and Cromarty
By-Election of 1936
When former Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald and his son Malcolm lost their seats in the 1935 General Election, Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin wanted both men returned to Parliament quickly. When the seemingly safe seat of Ross and Cromarty became vacant in January 1936, Malcolm MacDonald was selected to be the National Government candidate.
What should have been a formality became a bitter and extraordinary by-election.
Enraged by this apparent attempt to foist a former Labour MP on them, the local Liberal and Unionist Associations decided to field independent candidates. The Unionists’ choice of candidate – Randolph Churchill, son of Winston Churchill – proved explosive.
So began a memorable, abusive and ‘odious’ campaign contested by the sons of two British Prime Ministers, men who loathed one another and made no attempt to conceal the fact. Remarkably, no fewer than six children of previous, current or future Prime Ministers would be involved in the campaign, a record that is unlikely to be beaten.
The campaign, occurring during the worst winter for 50 years, encompassed the death of King George V, the hospitalisation of a candidate, car crashes aplenty, rampaging deer, posturing Blackshirts and candidates coming perilously close to being run out of town by enraged locals.
An Odious campaign: the 1936 Ross and Cromarty by-election is an entertaining slice of history that resonates with current British Parliamentary politics.
An Odious Campaign: the Ross and Cromarty By-Election of 1936 is available from Tippermuir Books.
One Final Hurdle: A History of St Johnstone Football Club
Written and published in 2014 to commemorate St Johnstone winning the Scottish Cup for the first time in their history, One Final Hurdle features reminiscences and memories of over 200 St Johnstone fans, presenting a history of the club from its earliest days to its 2014 triumph.
Some reviews:
"The book is dynamite. It goes all the way up to the Lucerne game. Thanks again. It's a belter. Saints fans buy it on sight."
"A very professional publication - great job done by a real supporter."
"I am very impressed. I would recommend it. Rob has done the club and supporters proud."
"a must for all Saints fans."
"I think it is fabulous. A huge well done to Rob and to everyone who contributed. For those that have not got a copy yet, this is a must buy book."
"Thanks for the book. It's great to have such a reminder so full of our own memories and comments!"
Cormac McCarthy and the Cities of God, Man and the Plain
Cormac McCarthy seeks to understand human community, the bonds of love which mark humanity, and the impact when those bonds are broken. Throughout his career, however, his work has increasingly focused on a quest for some spiritual core to existence, unfolding against a backdrop of modernity in crisis. These preoccupations can be read in the context of St Augustine’s City of Man and the search for passage into the City of God: there is the dualistic nature of man, with his ability to love and his capacity for evil, driven by the promise of salvation beyond the material realm.
This ground-breaking study analyses what appears to be a sustained sense of hostility to modernity in McCarthy’s fiction. It uses the philosophy of Eric Voegelin to demonstrate that McCarthy’s fiction synthesises elements of what Voegelin describes as modern gnosticism, a sense that humanity has usurped God and seeks to establish an immanent heaven-on-earth.
Using material from the Cormac McCarthy Archives in Texas State University, this study explores how McCarthy layers sacred and profane concerns over his narratives to make a profoundly compelling study of humanity in the modern world.
This volume also includes the text of presentations given by the author to the American Literature Association and Cormac McCarthy Society Annual Conferences.