Jean MacDougall was born in 1910. In her work Highland Postbag, McDougall details a rich family history pertaining to the correspondence of four McDougall chiefs from her family history.
In this work, McDougall provides an authentic record of the concerns and variations within her family, during a time of great change in the Highlands. Not only does McDougall discuss the major shift was taking place in the locals’ way of life but also the impact that local, national, and international events have had upon their experiences. Emerging from these events, McDougall presents a remarkable vision of what a family is, no short of: love and romance, social occasions and quiet domesticity, illness, disasters, battles, quarrels, journeys and home affairs.
McDougall not only explores the experiences of the family leaders within this work but also their wives and daughters. Showcasing how prominent the female family members were in this history, McDougall also presents insight into the domestic arrangements and social conditions of the time. The way in which woman had to manage important affairs in the absence of their husbands to the point of even having to defending Dunollie Castle.
Sadly, Jean McDougall died in 1999 but her colourful exploration of family and Scottish history shall live on in her memory.