This page is just a bit of fun! One of the most popular pastimes amongst Dunnett enthusiasts is to cast the various characters of Dorothy's book for the big screen. Of course we all have our own rules for this - whether we stick to actors who could play the parts now, or if we allow older actors at the relevant times in their careers, whether we want blue-eyed blondes for Lymond or allow wigs, dyes and contact lenses, and whether we want native Scots speakers or not. So just to keep the pot boiling here are my own choices and some of the most popular ones that I hear mentioned by others.

As far as I know Dorothy herself only ever mentioned two characters - Peter O'Toole for Lymond, and Colin Firth for Nicholas. She told me that neither of them really match her mental image of them but were the closest she'd seen.

As regards music for such a film there was a superb Scots musician who is sadly no longer with us - the fiddler Johnnie Cunningham who died in 2003. Only after his death did I learn that he was a Dunnett reader and had expressed an interest in writing something based on her work. His equally brilliant accordionist brother Phil would be my choice for the Scottish and sea-based scenes.

So far I either haven't really got a clear idea of casting for Nicholas and co. or I haven't found the right actors. I suspect I'm not alone in this as I've heard far fewer suggestions for this series. Maybe the characters of Lymond are more vivid to those of us who read that series first - it would be interesting to see what the people who read Nicholas first say about that. Anyway there's plenty of room on this list for new suggestions!