David Bruce is a former Director of the Scottish Film Council and of the Edinburgh
International Film Festival. He initially worked as a musician and documentary film-
maker following a spell in theatre and film in London. He now lives in Helensburgh.
A historian of film and photography (he is a Fellow of the Royal Photographic
Society), his books include Scotland – the Movie; The Sun Pictures – the Hill-
Adamson Calotypes; Edinburgh Past and Present and Greatrex – Forger and
Photographer.
His new book, Letters from the Winding Nile, is based on the correspondence of
William Kidston (1813-1889), 
a prosperous Glasgow businessman who wrote home
to his sister from his expedition in 1856-57 to Egypt and the Holy Land. Kidston’s
letters are full of vivid observation, often amusing, about the places he visited and,
crucially, the characterful people he met.
As well as being entertaining, William’s private letters provide a fascinating insight
into the life and times of a wealthy Victorian gentleman, not least because they were
purely intended for family reading, rather than a wider public – let alone us.
David Bruce