‘It Was Hame’: Cosmopolitan Belonging in Anne Donovan’s Being Emily

Abstract

This article explores the notion of ‘hame’ as central to Scottish understanding of identity, focusing on Anne Donovan’s ‘Crossover’ novel Being Emily ( 2008). The analysis probes the novel’s reconfiguration of ‘hame’ (home) so that this space can become a notion/nation that is able to accommodate diverse races, genders, ethnicities and sexual orientations. McCulloch reads the novel as an example of the optimistic cosmopolitan possibilities open to a new generation of Scots and Scottish writers.