Donald Robertson, Great John Maclean Has Come Home to the Clyde: The Life and Times of Scotland’s Greatest Socialist (Resistance Books: London, 2025). Review by Jim Claven. This new biography of the Scottish socialist and activist John Maclean is a tour de force. Well researched and written in a clear and engaging style, its nearly 600 pages include more than 50 pages of references covering a wide range of primary and
On the morning of Thursday 28 November 1918, the Imperial War Cabinet met at 10 Downing Street in London. Outside the weather was wet and windy and the temperature struggled to reach seven degrees Celsius. It was the American holiday of Thanksgiving; but Americans were not the only ones feeling thankful. The armistices signed by the Allies on 30 October (with Turkey), 3 November (Austria-Hungary) and 11 November (Germany) had
In researching my recent biography of John Maclean, it became clear to me that the poets of Scotland played a major role in rescuing Scotland’s greatest socialist from the mists of obscurity. Thus, when I visited the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh in September, I was struck by this 1980 painting by Alexander Moffat. Titled ‘Poet’s Pub’, it is an imaginary vision of the major Scottish poets and writers
Copies of ‘Great John Maclean Has Come Home to the Clyde’ are now available in-store at the following Australian bookshops. Sydney Abbey’s, 131 York Street, Sydney (pictured above). BOOK FACE, Shop 30 Northbridge Plaza, 79-113 Sailors Bay Road, Northbridge. Gould’s Books, 536 King Street, Newtown. Resistance Books, 22-36 Mountain Street, Ultimo. Title, Surry Hills Store, 501 Crown Street, Surry Hills. Title, Barangaroo Store, 400 Barangaroo Avenue, Barangaroo, Sydney. Melbourne The
These were my opening remarks at the launch of Great John Maclean Has Come Home to the Clyde at Pollokshaws Burgh Hall, Glasgow on 26 August 2025. Joining me on the panel were Owen Maitland, national president of Scottish Socialist Youth (pictured above left) and Iain Gault from my publisher Resistance Books (above right). “History’s what people are trying to hide from you, not what they’re trying to show you.
As far as I am aware, only the Scottish and Irish bookshops listed below have copies in store. The book is available online at all other outlets listed. Scotland Calton Books, 159 London Road, Glasgow Mount Florida Books, 1068 Cathcart Road, Glasgow Lighthouse Books, 43-45 West Nicolson Street, Edinburgh (pictured above) Ireland Connolly Books, 43 East Essex Street Temple Bar, Dublin UK Resistance Books Waterstones Foyles Hive TGJones Fishpond Awesome
A couple of weeks before I was due to head off to Glasgow in search of the ghost of John Maclean, I stumbled across a couple of articles online, both of which resonated strongly with me. The first was a feature about the Glasgow-based writer Ian R. Mitchell, ‘Following in the footsteps of Maclean and Maxwell’ by Russell Leadbetter, published in the Glasgow Herald magazine on 11 July 2015. An extract:
