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As Geddes MacGregor once said, “No one
in Scotland can escape from the past. It is everywhere, haunting like a
ghost." Having been there more than once, I can tell you it is true. For all you Highlander lovers, Scotland’s past is the subject of my reviews this month. And I’m
beginning with a great one!
Jennifer Roberson's
LADY
OF THE GLEN is a keeper, now ensconced on my “to read
again” shelf. It has everything I love in a Scottish historical romance: an
epic love story, a noble hero, a strong heroine, real history (the massacre of Glencoe), attention to
detail and enough suspense and drama to keep me turning pages. Even the music of the Highlands
is included. I could hear the pipes and their mournful sound as Roberson
described them.
The story begins in 1682 when Catriona
(“Cat”) Campbell first encounters Alasdair (“Dair”) Og MacDonald. She is an
awkward, uncomely girl raised like one of her brothers by her druken father,
but Dair pays her a compliment when no one else does, telling her that she has
“bonnie eyes…all bluey-green and bright. The sort of eyes a Highlander likes to
come home to.” How could Cat ever forget him after that? Not even though he is
one of the dreaded MacDonalds, the enemies of clan Campbell, could she fail to
harbor a tenderness for him.
Much happens in this intricately woven tale
that spans a decade. It’s the time when King James was exiled to France and
William and Mary ruled England. The Scots battle each other as much as the
English. Grey John Campbell, Earl of Breadalbane seeks to be the power behind
the throne and he thinks it is William who will sit on that throne. He exerts
his influence to unite the clans, pretending to support King Jamie, while
planning on serving the Highland clans up on a silver platter to William. The
clans don’t trust him but the lairds have little choice, seeing the English Ft.
William erected as a symbol of the English dominance.
Famous battles like Killiecrankie are
vividly described as Dair fights with the MacDonalds of Glencoe and the
Stewarts of Appin. Both the MacDonalds and the Campbells kill each other’s
young men caught reeving cattle, and Dair saves Cat from harm, and she saves
his life. All this while another woman shares Dair’s bed. Then Cat’s father
agrees to wed her to the Earl of Breadalbane’s son, Duncan Campbell in exchange
for money to pay his many debts.
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| New Cover |
Perhaps the most intense moment is the
Massacre of Glencoe when the Campbells, joined with the treachery of the
English, including the king, murder nearly the entire clan of MacDonalds
without provocation. The massacre of Glencoe is still remembered to this day it
was such great perfidy on the part of the Campbells and England. A very sad
chapter in Scotland’s history. As Roberson says of Glencoe, “’Tis a glen of
sorrows, an empty place of blood and broken stone, of charred timber and burial
cairns.”
I did not want to put this one down. The
author truly captured the heart of the Highlands and the characters she vividly
portrays bring to life one of the most incredible periods of Scotland’s
history.
If you love Scotland and real
Highlander romance—the deep ones—you will love this book! It does have a happy ending, too.
Highly recommended, it’s on my Top 20 list.
Buy the paperback on Amazon (used is $4 including shipping)
Buy the Kindle on Amazon
Buy the paperback on Amazon (used is $4 including shipping)
Buy the Kindle on Amazon
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