Lewis Grassic Gibbon, born James Leslie Mitchell (1901-1935), has particularly etched himself into the hearts of his readers through the main character Chris, making "Sunset Song" repeatedly voted the greatest Scottish novel of all time. The story follows Chris Guthrie, who suffers under her strict father. She is allowed to attend college until her mother dies, forcing Chris to return to the farm. However, after the sudden death of her father as well, Chris does not continue her studies but dedicates herself entirely to the small family estate at the foot of the rugged Mearns. Her life is marked by the conflict between the "English Chris" of education and the "Kinraddie Chris" with her love for the regional language and landscape. This also strains her young marriage to the farm worker Ewan, until the outbreak of World War I.