Looking for a book on Scottish history

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

Since this subject regularly comes up, perhaps our resident historian could come up with a list of the basic five or six books that should be on everyone's shelf.

What do you say Cajunscot? A suggest reading list for 101-- An Introduction to Scottish History?

[macwilkin]

Since this subject regularly comes up, perhaps our resident historian could come up with a list of the basic five or six books that should be on everyone's shelf.

What do you say Cajunscot? A suggest reading list for 101-- An Introduction to Scottish History?

That will require some pondering, to be sure...of course, is this just Scottish history, or may I include titles relating to the Scottish diaspora?

Some titles that come to mind:

Alan Young's In the Footsteps of Robert Bruce. Sutton Publishing, 1999.
Maggie Craig's Damn Rebel Bitches: Women of the '45 Edinburgh: Mainstrem, 2000.*
Diana Henderson's Highland Soldier: A Social Study of the Highland Regiments, 1820-1920. John Donald, 1997 and The Scottish Regiments. Collins (2nd Edition), 2001.

*I just like typing the title.

T.

[McClef]

John Prebble is always very good but I couldn't recommend his stuff as a general introduction as his focus seems to be historical disasters such as Culloden, the Highland Clearances and the Tay Bridge Disaster.

There are many good individual biographies, such as Antonia Fraser on Mary Queen of Scots.

I have not read Magnusson's book, maybe it's about time I should!

[Woot22]

I really enjoyed "The Story of Scotland" by Nigel Tranter. He is also an excellent Scottish historical novelist. "The Bruce Trilogy" was fantastic as well.

[grizzbass]

I just got one called 1745 by stuart reid. it only covers the one year but it looks like a good book.

[macwilkin]

I just got one called 1745 by stuart reid. it only covers the one year but it looks like a good book.

That is a military history of the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745-46.

T.

[ThistleDown]

That will require some pondering, to be sure...of course, is this just Scottish history, or may I include titles relating to the Scottish diaspora?

Some titles that come to mind:

Alan Young's In the Footsteps of Robert Bruce. Sutton Publishing, 1999.
Maggie Craig's Damn Rebel Bitches: Women of the '45 Edinburgh: Mainstrem, 2000.*
Diana Henderson's Highland Soldier: A Social Study of the Highland Regiments, 1820-1920. John Donald, 1997 and The Scottish Regiments. Collins (2nd Edition), 2001.

*I just like typing the title.

T.

Maggie Craig also wrote "Bare-Arsed Banditti: Men of the 45", Todd . Both her books are well researched and written, and entertaining to boot.

How serious should we get with this list? Leaving out historical fiction and the like and anything to do with emigration and the diaspora we have a never-ending library to draw on for suggestions.

Just on the Jacobite uprisings of the 18C, their causes and effects, I suggest in no particular order "Letters from a Gentleman in the North to His Friend in London" by Edmund Burt; "Memoirs of the Jacobites" by Mrs Thomson; "Social Life of Scotland in the Eighteenth Century", by Henry Grey Graham; "Jacobite Estates of the Forty-Five" by Annette M Smith; "The Jacobite Army in England 1745" by FJ McLynn; "From Chiefs to Landlords" by Robert A Dodgshon; "Easter Ross 1750-1850" by Ian RM Mowat; "After the Forty-Five" by AJ Youngson; "The Jacobite General" by Katherine Tomasson; "Pickle the Spy" by Andrew Lang; "History of the Rebellion of 1745" by Robert Chambers; "Lives of Lovat & Forbes" by John Hill Burton.

As a learned treatise on the last 300 years of Scottish history there is nothing so fine as "The Scottish Nation" by Tom Devine.

[macwilkin]

Maggie Craig also wrote "Bare-Arsed Banditti: Men of the 45", Todd . Both her books are well researched and written, and entertaining to boot.

How serious should we get with this list? Leaving out historical fiction and the like and anything to do with emigration and the diaspora we have a never-ending library to draw on for suggestions.

Just on the Jacobite uprisings of the 18C, their causes and effects, I suggest in no particular order "Letters from a Gentleman in the North to His Friend in London" by Edmund Burt; "Memoirs of the Jacobites" by Mrs Thomson; "Social Life of Scotland in the Eighteenth Century", by Henry Grey Graham; "Jacobite Estates of the Forty-Five" by Annette M Smith; "The Jacobite Army in England 1745" by FJ McLynn; "From Chiefs to Landlords" by Robert A Dodgshon; "Easter Ross 1750-1850" by Ian RM Mowat; "After the Forty-Five" by AJ Youngson; "The Jacobite General" by Katherine Tomasson; "Pickle the Spy" by Andrew Lang; "History of the Rebellion of 1745" by Robert Chambers; "Lives of Lovat & Forbes" by John Hill Burton.

As a learned treatise on the last 300 years of Scottish history there is nothing so fine as "The Scottish Nation" by Tom Devine.

Rex,

Many thanks for the tip on "Bare-Arsed Banditti" -- I'm off to our library's online catalog to see if I can order that from Washington University in St. Louis, which has a rather large Scottish collection in its stacks. If it's anything like "Damn Rebel Bitches", then I can't wait for it to arrive! I've always loved the story of Colonel Anne Mackintosh, and Craig certainly did wonders with that story.

T.

[Bugbear]

From ThistleDown's suggestions:
The Project Gutenberg EBook of Pickle the Spy, by Andrew Lang(EBook #6807).

There are a whole bunch of Andrew Lang's books over at Project Gutenberg.

[ThistleDown]

Rex,

Many thanks for the tip on "Bare-Arsed Banditti" -- I'm off to our library's online catalog to see if I can order that from Washington University in St. Louis, which has a rather large Scottish collection in its stacks. If it's anything like "Damn Rebel Bitches", then I can't wait for it to arrive! I've always loved the story of Colonel Anne Mackintosh, and Craig certainly did wonders with that story.

T.

Yes, a truly remarkable personality for any age. Raeburn's painting of her in the National Portrait Gallery depicts an ultra-slim, almost masculine woman to match her persona as "Colonel" Anne, a title she herself never used. Her correspondence and that of her husband, Angus, leads one to a more domestic image of her. At this distance of time and politics one is tempted to ask if the real Anne wouldn't please stand up.

Rex