author
John Mackay Wilson
1804–1835
Best known for the lively Border stories that came to be collected as Wilson’s Tales of the Borders, this Scottish writer drew on local history, legend, and everyday life. His work helped preserve the voice and atmosphere of the Scottish Borders, even though his career was cut short in his early thirties.
1 Audiobook
The Faa's revenge, and other tales
by John Mackay Wilson, Various Authors
About the author
Born in Tweedmouth on August 15, 1804, John Mackay Wilson was a Scottish writer and editor whose name is closely tied to the Border tales that made him popular with readers. He trained as a printer, spent time in London, and later returned to Berwick, where he worked in journalism and became editor of the Berwick Advertiser.
While editing the paper, he began publishing the local stories that grew into Wilson’s Tales of the Borders—historical, traditional, and imaginative pieces set around the Scottish Borders. The tales blended folklore, regional history, and strong storytelling, and they helped fix his reputation as a writer with a real feel for place and character.
Wilson also spoke at Temperance meetings, showing how closely his literary and public lives were linked. He died at Berwick-on-Tweed on October 2, 1835, still very young, but his stories continued to be read and republished long after his death.