Eccentric Wealth by Alastair Scott

Birlinn, p/b ****

Anyone seeking some unusual inspiration on how to fritter away their lottery winnings or blow their hedge fund billions should look no further than the example of Northern industrialist Sir George Bullough, who eschewed the work ethic of his forebears and instead used the fortune amassed by the graft and guile of two preceding generations to transform the island of Rum into his own personal playground – a paragon of debauched Edwardian opulence that was second to none.

Although a number of the tales of Bullough’s exotic tastes will be well known, particularly to those who have visited the island that he helped to shape, this is the first biography of this latter-day Croesus and it sifts through the stories that have emerged about this remarkable man. And, while many of the more bizarre and salacious tales surrounding Bullough might well – Scott reveals through his painstaking research – be myths that emerged from gossip and rumour, there are still plenty of juicy and eccentric anecdotes founded firmly on truth. This makes for a scholarly yet still eminently readable account of a truly extraordinary character who emerged from the era of opulence and colonial arrogance that characterised life for the ruling classes of Great Britain and its Empire in the golden era that preceded the First World War.

If only he had included a few snake pits and shark tanks to go with his tropical aviary and collection of alligators, Kinloch Castle would have been more than enough to make any self-respecting James Bond villain turn green with envy. And, when combined with Scottish Natural Heritage’s commendable efforts to retain the castle’s fading Edwardian glory, this book helps to keep the legacy of Bullough alive. 

£9.99