Order of William McIlvanney Books

William McIlvanney was a Scottish crime writer renowned as “the godfather of tartan noir.” He gained prominence for his Laidlaw series of crime novels, but he also authored the autobiographical novel Docherty in 1975, which earned him the Whitbread prize. Born in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, he grew up with three siblings before studying English at Glasgow University. He released his first novel in 1966 while simultaneously working as a schoolteacher. His second novel followed two years later, but it did not achieve the commercial success that he would later experience.