Eric Linklater, who died 50 years ago, published in 1956 a novel set in Shetland and Faroe, with Orkney scenes too, and action past and present. It has a fateful mood, showing how chains of events can lead to tragic conclusions – but then builds up to an unexpected ending with a fresh picture of the nature of time itself and a feeling of hope and redemption. And that picture of time, says Dr Howie Firth, is quite remarkably one that is emerging in modern physics. He tells the story of the book and its implications.

Readings from the book and other sources will be given by Dame Janet Suzman.