As Christendom approached the first Millennium, conflict and war prevailedthroughout a troubled Scotland. The population remained under constant threatfrom bloodthirsty Viking raids, and the High Kings of Scots came and went, theirbrief reigns usually coming to a violent end.In 995, young Cormac mac Farquhar, newly succeeding his father as Thane ofGlamis, was to find himself reluctantly caught up in the misfortunes of the rulingmonarch, Kenneth th...

When his mother, the formidable Black Agnes, bequeathed him the troubled earldom of Moray in the far north of Scotland, John Cospatrick, younger son of the ninth Earl of Dunbar and March, found himself unexpectedly elevated to become King David's lieutenant and arbiter up in those unruly parts.At the age of 22, with no experience in matters of governance, John's courage, sharp wit and skills of diplomacy served him well in bringing the rebellious Lords of the Isles to heel....

At the beginning of the eighteenth century, one of the most exciting and romantic periods of British history, the famous Rob Roy MacGregor and his gallant nephew Gregor, a fierce young Highlander loyal to the cause, led the MacGregor clan into battle against the English Army.Outlawed and landless, they still clung to Glengyle, one small remaining corner of their ancient territories, and held fast in their loyalty to the Stuart King over the water. But in the midst of the political ...

Scotland at the dawn of the 15th century was a wretched spectacle. Whilethe feeble Robert III still clung to his throne, his kingdom rang withthe sound of conflict as his son and brother grappled for power.Sir James Douglas of Aberdour, married as he was to the King'sillegitimate sister, had to tread a hazardous path through the warringfactions. But having a conscience made life harder still. For in thosedays - and in that company - a conscience c...

James the First of Scots was an extraordinary man: poet, thinkerwarrior, athlete and statesman.And prisoner - for he was held captive for almost half his adult life.He possessed that fatal Stewart capacity to arouse both love andhatred; to attract both undying loyalty and the darkest treachery. Hisromance with the proud English beauty Joanna Beaufort is one ofthe great love stories of history, and the love for him of CatherineDouglas, one ...

Written by the author of The Bruce Trilogy, The Captive Crown, and Margaret the Queen, this is the story of a very human, fallible but courageous and indomitable man, born an Irish prince in the troubled and pagan sixth century, who rejected the high kingship of all Ireland to be an abbot.

After young James the Third's accession to the Scottish throne, theambitious Boyd family of Kilmarnock seized power in a bloodless coup.Mary Stewart, James' eldest sister, was at first unwilling to marryThomas Boyd, future Earl of Arran - but she had no choice.Eventually, however, she learned to love him, and when he was sent tothe Danish court to negotiate with King Christian, she discovered aunique talent for diplomacy. In exchange for Princess ...

During the reign of Malcolm IV, King of the Scots, Hugh de Swinton andhis fellow mosstroopers helped keep the rampaging Galloway rebels atbay. But it was for his expertise in the killing of wild boars, asprotector of the Swintons' sheep flocks, that young Hugh was brought toMalcolm's attention.But Malcolm was a pious man much concerned with the well-being of hispeople. And he handpicked Hugh de Swinton to mastermind a very specialproject cl...

With the heir to the throne murdered, King Robert III a sick weakling,and his remaining son a child, Scotland and the Stewarts were in a badway three generations on from the great Bruce. But two young men stoodout: Alex Stewart, bastard son of the notorious Wolf of Badenoch, andhis cousin, Brave John of Coull, a son of the hated regent. With theirfortunes are entwined those of Sir Jamie Douglas, through whose eyes thestory is told.

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 Scotti...

This is the thrilling story of Angus Og MacDonald, Lord of the Isles, during the turbulent days of Robert the Bruce.The grandson of the great Angus Mor, direct descendant and successor of Somerled himself, the semi-independent prince of the Hebrides and much of the West Highland mainland, Angus was a worthy representative of a notable line, living in dramatic and exciting times for Scotland and England, for Ulster, Man and Ireland.He took his part in it all, an active suppo...

The brutal murder of James I, King of Scots, at Perth in 1437 left hisseven-year-old son to rule over a troubled kingdom. Power-hungry lordsseized their chance to gain control over the boy-king James II and hisrealm.When young Alexander Lyon, son of the Thane of Glamis, married Agnes,the daughter of Sir William Crichton, he found himself drawn into thewider affairs of the nation. Alec was to become a close attendant andfriend of the young m...