Kirsty Wark has a novel out and can take any criticism

Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn!

As a hard-bitten political journalist and presenter of The Review Show, Kirsty Wark is more used to handing out criticism rather than taking it.

But with the release of her debut novel next week, Kirsty knows this time it’s her who’s right in the firing line.

However, the mum-of-two reckons she’s of an age now where she doesn’t give a damn.

Talking about her book, The Legacy of Elizabeth Pringle, the Newsnight host, 59, said: “I’m happy to take the brickbats with the bouquets.

“Not that I’m expecting any bouquets, of course. Although that would be nice.

Writing a novel is a hugely personal experience. You really do open your soul. It’s a work of fiction yes, but there are so many elements of my story my family’s story intermingled through it.

“If I worried about what people might think of it, I’d never have got started.

“On The Review Show I like to think any criticism we direct at authors is constructive, but I know there are plenty out there who will have a pop just for the sake of it.

“Perhaps it’s my age, but I’m really not bothered what they think. I’m proud of my book. It’s a story I wanted so much to tell and I hope people get the same enjoyment I did.”

The Legacy of Elizabeth Pringle is a story of love and belonging set on the isle of Arran. The title character is a 95-year-old woman.

When she dies, her will bequeaths her home and possessions to a woman all but a stranger a young mum she saw pushing a pram more than 30 years ago.

Kirsty, married to TV boss Alan Clements, said: “The central character, Elizabeth, is 95 when we first see her. She was born just before the First World War.

“It struck me that people of that generation in their 80s and 90s are often seen as one-dimensional characters. Often they’re just dismissed simply as ‘the elderly’.

“People forget they were young, they lived lives, often incredibly hard lives that we today really can’t comprehend.

“Those of Elizabeth’s generation came through two wars, incredible economic hardship and real poverty.

“There was no welfare state to speak of, or NHS. It’s beyond even the imagination of many today and yet it wasn’t so long ago.”

The novel’s set on Arran a place with which proud Scot Kirsty has a strong connection. Childhood holidays were spent there and it’s here she often brings her own children.

Her deep love of Scotland is a theme she’s been able to explore in the book.

Kirsty said: “It is a strange thing, the love of a place and all the feelings it stirs.

“I love Scotland and could never leave. That sense of place and belonging is so powerful. It really matters.”

The Legacy of Elizabeth Pringle, published by Two Roads, is out in hardback on Thursday March 13, priced at £14.99.