My Friend My Father by Jane Duncan was published in 1966 and it’s the thirteenth book in the ‘My Friend’ series. The setting is mainly north of Inverness.

Young Janet Sandison lives with her parents on their small farm in the hills, World War I isn’t far away but it’s an idyllic life for Janet as she’s at the centre of her loving extended family. It’s her relationship with her father that’s most important to her and luckily he’s a wise and kind father who manages to avoid spoiling Janet, even after the tragic death of her mother.

This is a great read which takes Janet from northern Scotland to wartime England as an adult when she joins the WAAF and eventually on to a Caribbean island, but always with the company of her father, even if only in letter form. As you would expect from a Jane Duncan book there’s quite a bit of humour too.

These books are semi-autobiographical, very much inspired by her own life experiences. She also wrote the Janet Reachfar children’s books which are still in print today.

As it happens she was born and grew up in Renton, Dunbartonshire not far from where I grew up, but I don’t think there is a blue plaque anywhere for her. She also wrote under the name Janet Sandison.