Setting

Seleskay

‘Andrina’ is set on the fictional Orkney island of ‘Seleskay’.

Tina Stewart the postmistress knew everybody and everything.

It is a place where gossip abounds. Whereas in ‘A Time to Keep’, gossip can be a driver of conflict, in ‘Andrina’ it is more benign.

Agricultural cycle

Although the story is not as directly centered around the agricultural cycle as others – ‘A Time to Keep’ in particular – the seasons do seem to, at times, mirror the mood:

• Bill struggles in the winter
• His summer affair with Sigrid is described as being ‘soaked in the light of a single, brief summer’.