"Kailyard" literally means "cabbage patch."
And the writers most frequently referred to when it comes to Kailyard fiction are SR Crockett (1860-1914), Ian Maclaren *1850-1907) and JM Barrie (1860-1937).
The Kailyard writers were attacked for their "bad art", their "cultural degeneracy" and their "sloppy sentimentality." They went in for too much romance and nostalgia!
Yet Devine (1999) insists that the "descent of Scottish culture" into the "abyss of sentimental parochialism of the Kailyard has been grossly exaggerated by critics"
He says the Kailyard writers were envied because they were successful and sold well. They were popular above all because Scotland was recently urbanised society that still had village/small town roots.