This Door of the Seas by Val McDermid & Jo Sharp
Published: 06 August 2026
The Darien Venture was the singular event at the end of the seventeenth century that fundamentally altered Scotland’s future.
It took place on the other side of the world, amid the jungle-coastline at the junction between the continents of North and South America. And most of us know next to nothing about it.
Now it’s time to remedy that. Award-winning novelist Val McDermid and Geographer Royal for Scotland Jo Sharp unite in this revelatory novella to trace the story of Scotland’s only trading colony, which turned from a dream of prosperity to a nightmare that bankrupted an already impoverished nation and propelled it towards political union with England.
Written as a series of letters home from expedition scientist Dr James Wallace to his wife Eliza and Sir Robert Sibbald, the first Geographer Royal, this epistolary tale offers a devastating account of the forces that doomed the endeavour and completely changed the history of the British Isles in the process.
REVIEWS
Praise for Queen Macbeth by Val McDermid: ‘Beautifully done’ – THE TIMES
‘Successfully dismantled my blood-soaked Shakesperean assumptions’ – THE GUARDIAN
This Door of the Seas by Val McDermid & Jo Sharp
This is the latest in our acclaimed Darkland Tales series, which sees Scotland’s best writers reimagine the country’s history, with previous titles by Denise Mina, Jenni Fagan, Alan Warner, David Greig, and Graeme Macrae Burnet.
The Darien Venture was the singular event at the end of the seventeenth century that fundamentally altered Scotland’s future.
It took place on the other side of the world, amid the jungle coastline at the junction between the continents of North and South America. Award-winning novelist Val McDermid and Geographer Royal for Scotland Jo Sharp unite in this revelatory novella to trace the story of Scotland’s only trading colony, which turned from a dream of prosperity to a nightmare that bankrupted an already impoverished nation and propelled it towards political union with England.
The Darkland Tales
Polygon’s acclaimed Darkland Tales series tasks Scotland’s best writers with re-imagining stories from the country’s history, myth and legend. This series reclaims history for a modern audience, with Scotland’s greatest contemporary novelists and storytellers taking on the challenge of producing Scottish history 2.0 – a redux of landmark moments from the past, viewed through a modern lens and alive to modern sensibilities.
While each book has a unique voice and distinctive individual identity, the Darkland Tales are united by their punky, anarchic and deliberately in-your-face aesthetic. These books are sharp, provocative and darkly comic, mining that seam of sedition and psychological drama that has always featured in the best of Scottish literature.