First published on 12th September 1960, Ring of Bright Water by Gavin Maxwell is the story of his life in a remote house in coastal Scotland where he kept several wild otters as pets. It became a best seller eventually reaching over two million copies sold. A fictionalised film of the same name was made and released in 1969.
The book describes how Maxwell, with a smooth-coated otter from the Marshes of Iraq that he named Mijbil, lived in an abandoned house on a shingle beach on the west coast of Scotland. He raised Mij as a pet. A haven for wildlife, he named his home ‘Camusfeàrna’ and settled there with the otters Mij, Edal and Teko. Sadly a year later Mij strayed from the lonely cottage and, knowing no fear of humans, was mistakenly killed by a local roadman.
Ring of Bright Water chronicles Maxwell’s first ten years with the otters and touched the hearts of readers the world over, brilliantly evoking life with these playful animals in this natural paradise. It has been described as “one of the most popular wildlife books ever written”, with over two million copies sold worldwide. Two further volumes followed bringing the story full circle telling of the difficult last years and the final abandonment of the settlement.