The author of the acclaimed novelThe Horse Whisperer fell seriously ill after eating poisonous mushrooms while on holiday in the Highlands.

Nicholas Evans, 58, his wife. Charlotte, 50, her brother, Sir Alistair Gordon-Cumming, 54, and his wife, Lady Louise, 46, consumed Cortinarius speciosissimus, a rare species that can cause renal failure.

All four are in hospital in Aberdeen, where they have received dialysis and other kidney treatment, but a family friend has said that they are mobile and in “a positive frame of mind”.

Mr Evans and his family ate the mushrooms on Saturday, August 23, after picking them during a woodland stroll through the Altyre Estate, near Forres. The 12,000-acre estate is owned by Sir Alistair, who is chief of the Clan Cumming.

Times Archive, 1972: A guide to all manner of mushrooms

Those who maintain that fungi are all right to eat if a silver spoon has been cooked with them and remains untarnished may find out the truth to their cost

• Letter: Poisonous fungi, 1930

• Letter: Poisonous mushrooms, 1850

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After falling ill two days later, on Bank Holiday Monday, they were taken to Dr Gray’s Hospital in Elgin. The two men were transferred to a renal unit at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary the following day and their wives were moved last Wednesday.

Mr Evans’s literary agency, AP Watt, confirmed that the London-based writer had been poisoned, but said that all four were recovering. A statement said: “They have been given dialysis and other forms of treatment to support their kidney function and have responded well. A family friend who visited them said they were all walking about and were cheerful.”

A spokeswoman for NHS Grampian, the health board that operates Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, said yesterday that the four patients were in a stable condition.

There are about 10,000 species of mushroom found in Britain and Cortinarius speciosissimus, which has a reddish brown cap and rust-coloured gills, is known to be one of the most deadly. Found mostly in Scotland, where it grows in conifer woods, it causes damage to the liver, kidneys and spinal cord. As other members of theCortinariusfamily are also dangerous, none is recommended for human consumption.

Michael Jordan, from the Association of British Fungus Groups, a mushroom conservation charity, said it was likely that Mr Evans and his family had mistakenCortinarius speciosissimus for chanterelles. “This species grows in similar locations and can look similar to edible chanterelles,” he said. Mr Jordan said the mushroom was extremely toxic. “If people are in a decent state physically and you get them on to dialysis fast enough it is possible to survive, but there have been a smattering of cases across Europe where it was lethal. The liver is broken down into a pulp,” he said.

Mr Evans was struggling with £65,000 of debt when the actor/director Robert Redford bought the film rights for his unfinished debut novel, The Horse Whisperer, for £3 million in 1995. When the adaptation, starring Redford and Kristin Scott-Thomas, was released three years later, it received Golden Globe nominations for best drama and best director. The success of the film also boosted the book, which sold 15 million copies around the world.

Mr Evans, who has published three other novels – The Loop, The Smoke Jumper and The Divide – survived skin cancer earlier in his career.

He has three children from his first marriage and a son with Charlotte, his second wife. Mrs Evans is a songwriter who wrote the 2001 hit record Soul Sound for the Sugababes.

Sir Alastair became chief of Clan Cumming six years ago.

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