The World Invisible

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Michael Magnus, laird of Burrafirth, was five when his mother died. Now that the boy is nine, he needs a tutor. But the question must be asked: Which one will be the teacher and which will be the student? On a warm October day only a few years past the middle of the 18th century, a boy was born on Unst, the most northerly of isle of Shetland. He was named Michael Magnus, laird of Burrafirth. His father, Laurence Bruce, gave the title to his son immediately. It was good, he said, for the boy to grow up knowing who he was and what such a rank entailed. When Michael turned five, his mother died, her lifeless body found among the seals who sing on the shores of Burrafirth. Now that the boy is nine, he needs a tutor. But the question must be asked, which one will be the teacher and which will be the student?