This early work on Ross and Cromarty is both expensive and hard to find in its first edition. It contains a wealth of information on the history of the area and the meanings of the place names in it. This is a fascinating work and is thoroughly recommended for anyone with an interest in the history of Scotland. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, mo...

An "exciting and dramatic" history of the raiders who ruled the lawless Anglo-Scottish borderlands for over a century ( Cumberland News).Nowhere else in Britain in the modern era, or indeed in Europe, did civil order break down over such a wide area, or for such a long time, as on the border country between Scotland and England. For more than a century, the hoofbeats of countless raiding parties drummed over the border. From Dumfriesshire to the high wastes...

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...

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 extraordinary story of the UK’s most gruelling and spectacularly beautiful islands. Tom Steel’s acclaimed portrait of the St Kildan’s lives is now updated in this reissued edition.Situated at the westernmost point of the United Kingdom, the spectacularly beautiful but utterly bleak island of St Kilda is familiar to virtually nobody. A lonely archipelago off the coast of Scotland, it is hard to believe that for over two thousand years, men and women lived here, cut off from the ...

Whisky, A Very Peculiar History' takes a sideways look at this most inebriating beverage from its simplistic origins to its pride of place in the drinks cabinets of the world. When Henry VIII disbanded the monasteries and let those brewing monks out into the wilderness, he had no idea of the kind of beast he'd unleashed. Whisky was used as a medicine, giving 'the glow of apparent well-being' and even horses were known to be given a dram here and there (although via the kneecaps). Featuring...

It was the outstanding beauty of his sister Janet with her flame-red hairwhich was to bring David Kennedy of Carrick to the attention of Scotland'sromantic and personable monarch, James IV.But whatever its cause, the association between the King and David Kennedywas to prove highly beneficial to Scotland in the troubled years ahead, whenHenry VIII and the English Tudors sought to style themselves suzerains, orLords Paramount, of the Northern Kingd...

By the power of his sword arm, his dragon fleet and his sheerpersonality, Somerled Norse Slayer carved an enduring name for himselfin Scottish legend.Inheriting his father's shattered thanedom in Argyll in the twelfthcentury, he enlarged it by courage, initiative, military shrewdness anddiplomacy. For decades his navy held the balance of power in thenorthern seas, and it was he who cleared the Vikings out of theHebrides.Set against ...

A "vigorous and vivid and feisty" portrait of a traditional Scottish subculture from an insider ( Dundee Courier & Advertiser).Scottish gypsies, known as travellers, have wandered Scotland's roads and byways for centuries, and their turbulent history is captured in this passionate book by Jess Smith, the bestselling author of Jessie's Journey. This is less a conventional history than a personal pilgrimage through the stories, songs...

Norse-Slayer and nation-builder, Kenneth, son of Alpin mac Eochaidh, Kingof Galloway, was the visionary who brought together the ancient kingdomsof Alba, Dalriada, Strathclyde and Galloway to create the country ofScotland.Yet his vision was wider still. He dreamed of a great coming together ofall the Celtic people, Scots, Irish, Welsh, Cornish and Manx, unitedagainst the Norse and the Anglo-Saxon invaders.Fighting not only his country's en...

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.

Did ye ken? A treasury of Scottish trivia, history, culture, and curiosities, with color photos included.What does an Egyptian princess have to do with the birth of Scotland? How is Scotch whisky made? What is the Stone of Destiny? Who was the real Macbeth? What is Hogmanay, and what does “auld lang syne” actually mean?These questions and many more are addressed in Scottish Miscellany, filled with facts, figures, fun, and fascinating explanations o...