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This trilogy tells the story of Robert the Bruce and how, tutored and encouraged by the heroic William Wallace, he determined to continue the fight for an independent Scotland, sustained by a passionate love for his land.
Tranter admits that he is not a historian, and that he could never cover all of Scottish history in 200 pages. What he does, however, is make the reader interested, inquisitive, and thoughtful about the events that have molded Scotland.
King Arthur's niece, sister to Gawain and daughter of King Loth, the devoutly Christian Princess Thanea was born to a life of high privilege. But her fortunes took a turn for the worse when she first objected to the druidical practice of human sacrifice and then refused to marry the man her pagan father had picked out for her. Cast adrift in an oarless coracle as a sacrifice to the sea-god, Thanea managed to survive, washed up on the Fife coast and rescued by the monks of St Serf.
'Our race is royal,' is the proud claim of the MacGregors. Yet for all their history and fighting prowess, they are a small clan and their lands too close for comfort to the great Clan Campbell. By the end of the 16th century, the heritage of their new young chieftain, Alastair MacGregor, is a poisoned chalice indeed. Not only has much of their land been lost, but their principal threat is Black Duncan of the Cowl, Campbell of Glenorchy. Campbell is as clever as he is unscrupulous - and he has the ear of King James VI. 'Through his imaginative dialogue, he provides a voice for Scotland's heroes' Scotland on Sunday
A humble laird from Largoshire, Andrew Wood's determination to avenge his father's murder by English pirates, led to his national renown as a pirate-slayer. This brought him to the attention of King James III, who asked Wood to build up a number of captured vessels to form the nucleus of a national fleet. Such was his success, that the King eventually promoted him to become Baron of Largo and Lord High Admiral of Scotland. Admiral Wood's bold defence of Scottish waters against the marauding English privateers was to incur the wrath of King Henry VII of England. Wood was now in great danger - but he survived to become Scotland's most famous sailor, and a skilled negotiator who greatly aided his nation's cause at a time of international unrest.
Half-Celt and half-Saxon, King David determined to take hold of his backward, patriarchal, strife-ridden country and, against all the odds, pushed and dragged it into the forefront of Christendom's advancing nations. This is a story of independence, single-mindedness and hard-headed leadership. But also, through the turbulent years of his reign, it is a story of devotion: to the woman he admired and loved, Queen Matilda. Set in the 12th century, this is the incredible story of one of Scotland's greatest kings: David, the monarch who made Scotland a power for the first time, told by master of Scottish historical fiction Nigel Tranter.
At the end of the 13th century, Scotland was a blood-torn country suffering under the harsh domination of a tyrant usurper, the hated Plantagenet, Edward Longshanks. During the appalling violence of those unsettled days, one man rose to become leader of the Scots. That man was William Wallace. Motivated at first by revenge for the slaughter of his father, Wallace vowed to cleanse his country of the English and set the rightful king, Robert the Bruce, upon the Scottish throne. Though Wallace was a heroic figure, he was but a man - and his chosen path was to lead him through grievous danger and personal tragedy before the final outcome . . . Praise for Nigel Tranter: 'One of Scotland's most prolific and respected writers' Times 'Through his imaginative dialogue, he provides a voice for Scotland's heroes' Scotland on Sunday