Elspeth Barker was a remarkable Scottish novelist and journalist.

Born as Elspeth Langlands, she spent her childhood in Drumtochty Castle, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, where her parents operated a preparatory school for boys. From 1958, she pursued Literae Humaniores (Classics) at Somerville College, Oxford.

Barker's literary acclaim rests on her sole novel, O Caledonia, published in 1991, which garnered four awards and was shortlisted for the prestigious Whitbread Prize. Additionally, she edited an anthology titled Loss, centered on bereavement, released in 1997. Her reviews and essays were compiled in a 2012 collection named Dog Days.

She was first married to poet George Barker and had five children, including novelist Raffaella Barker. In 2007, she married writer Bill Troop. Barker passed away at her residence in Aylsham on 21 April 2022, at the age of 81, due to health complications following a stroke.