Irvine Welsh's grimy novel of addiction Trainspotting has emerged as the public's favourite Scottish novel of the past 50 years in a poll which was run by Scottish Book Trust.
The book featuring heroin addict Mark Renton and a cast of transgressive characters including con artist Sick Boy and sociopath Begbie, won the most votes from a total of 8,800 cast by Scottish readers from around the world.
Alasdair Gray's Lanark, combining depictions of real and dystopian fantasy Glasgow was voted as second favourite. Ian Rankin's eighth novel featuring his much-loved Inspector Rebus, Black and Blue, was third favourite.
Readers voted for their favourites from a suggested shortlist of 50 novels by Scottish writers which was put together by literary critic Stuart Kelly and Scottish Book Trust.
The shortlist was made up of William Dalrymple, David Greig, Robert Galbraith, and McIlvanney, with the winner determined by a public vote.
Galbraith – real name JK Rowling – was omitted from the Scottish Book Trust list of 50 best Scottish novels because her books for adults were deemed not good enough to make the cut.
The 5 favourite Scottish novels
1 Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh
2 Lanark by Alasdair Gray
3 Black and Blue by Ian Rankin
4 The Bridge by Iain Banks
5 One Fine Day in the Middle of the Night by Christopher Brookmyre
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