A treasure trove of work by Scotland's best-selling crime author is soon to go on public display at the National Library of Scotland's reading rooms. 

Ian Rankin said that his archive, which he donated to the libary last year, is “a pretty complete author’s life, late-20th century-style”.

The body of work stretches from 1972 to 2018 and includes correspondence with literary figures such as Ruth Rendell, as well as publishing companies, production companies and charities.

Police officers feature regularly in correspondence as he sought ideas and insight for his stories about the infamous Scottish detective Inspector John Rebus.

Mr Rankin made a substantial donation towards the creation of a post to itemise and catalogue each item for the Library, which was carried out by Curator Rosemary Hall.

The Herald:

Rankin doodles

This Thursday the author and Ms Hall Hall will discuss the archive and its contents over an exclusive online event, where they will also announce that the archive is ready for consultation.

Ms Hall said:“It’s been a privilege to work with a collection of such international importance. What archivists don’t typically have is the ability to involve the author whose archive we are working with.

"This allowed me to gain a richer insight into the materials. It’s exciting that we can now share this with the public.”

READ MORE: Ian Rankin to complete William McIlvanney’s final novel The Dark Remains

During the curatorship, Ms Hall meticulously surveyed approximately 50 boxes of material, and the cataloguing process has resulted in 387 files or manuscripts that people can view at the reading rooms.

The Herald:

Curator Rosemary Hall.

The archive will be available at the Library’s reading rooms from Friday 18 December, and Library members can book a place at the Special Collections Reading Room through the Library’s website.

When he donated the archive last year, Rankin said: “I remember that in my first week as a postgraduate student we were given a tour of the National Library of Scotland, including access to the basement levels.

“Those vaulted underground corridors would reappear in the climactic scenes of my first Rebus novel.

“The library has seemed like a friend ever since, so it seems fitting – as well as a thrill and an honour – that my archive should find a permanent home there.”

READ MORE: Inspector John Rebus was ‘almost killed off’ in first book​

Tickets are still available for The Rankin Files: Lifting the Lid. The event is free, but booking is essential. Places are available via Eventbrite. 

Ms Hall’s curatorial post was also made possible through generous donations from The W M Mann Foundation and The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation.