The Yellow on the Broom : the Early Days of a Traveller Woman

This classic memoir of a Scottish woman's traditional nomadic family offers an intimate glimpse at girlhood in a bygone way of life. A rare firsthand account of Scotland's indigenous traveler culture, The Yellow on the Broom has earned its place as a modern classic of Scottish literature. Here, Betsy Whyte vividly recounts the story of her childhood in flowing prose reminiscent of oral storytelling. Through the 1920s and 30s, she and her family spent much of the year traveling from town to town, working odd jobs while maintaining their centuries-old language and a culture. Whyte's people were known by many names—mist people, summer walkers, tinkers, and gypsies. As their way of life became increasingly marginalized, they faced greater hardship, suspicion and prejudice. Together with her second memoir, Red Rowans and Wild Honey, Whyte's story is a thought-provoking account of human strength, courage, and perseverance. The Yellow on the Broom is the first part of Betsy Whyte's autobiography. Not only is it a fascinating insight into the life and customs of traveller people in the 1920s and 1930s, it is also a thought-provoking account of human strength and weakness, courage and cowardice, understanding and prejudice by a sensitive and entertaining writer. 'It is a beautiful book, shining with honesty, a classic' – Scots Magazine 'A splendid picture of a vanished way of life, and a hardy people whom progress did not know how to value' – Evening Telegraph These are the timeless memoirs of traveller Betsy Whyte, offering a poignant insight into a largely vanished way of life. It is an inspiring tale of strength, tradition and community, often against great hardship and intolerance