Descriptions of Highland Attire in the Katherine Kurtz Adept Series

[Bugbear]

The Katherine Kurtz Adept Series came up in the Scottish ghost thread, and there are several descriptions of Highland attire throughout the novels. For example, in The Adept, Adam Sinclair and Peregrine Lovat "attend a full-dress ceilidh" in Dunfermline. Peregrine wears a Hunting Fraser tartan kilt, and there is also a musician in a green kilt at this ceilidh. Adam wears a kilt, Sinclair tartan, a doublet of his father's and a jabot with a sapphire brooch, the brooch having been given to his great-grandmother by Queen Victoria (114-19).

That's interesting that he is wearing a brooch in his jabot; is this pinning it together? I don't recall descussions of broochs being worn in the jabot.


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Rhemuth Castle - The Official Site of Katherine Kurtz

Katherine Kurtz, and Deborah Turner Harris, The Adept (New York: Ace Books
/Bill Fawcett and Associates, 1991).

[Bugbear]

Well, guess this thread was a dud.

Might as well not waist having looked up all this stuff, though. In Death of an Adept, Adam Sinclair is described as wearing a black silk barathea regulation doublet. It seems like I usually read of barathea being made from very fine wool, so that stands out a little, to me.

He is wearing a Sinclair tartan kilt, and Sinclair tartan hose. It is noted that his shoes have silver buckles, however, it is also noted that they are shinier than the antique buttons of his doublet, as well as, his silver watch chain. Along with that, he wears a white waistcoat, wing collar shirt, and white bow tie. This is for a black tie dance of sorts (189).

What seems to be missing is a description of a sporran. I would think something along the line of a seal skin sporran with silver cantle, or a horse hair sporran with silver cantle would be worn with this outfit.

A gentleman wearing a red and blue Fraser kilt with a blue velvet doublet is briefly described, and Peregrine is wearing his Hunting Fraser tartan kilt and bottle-green Montrose doublet (189-90).


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Katherine Kurtz, and Deborah Turner Harris, Death of an Adept (New York: Ace Books/Penguin Putnam, 1996, Ace mass market ed. 1997).

Dagger Magic also has several descriptions of kilt attire.

[Tartan Tess]

bugbear
I love this stuff....keep it coming

[Tartan Tess]

What is also interesting to me is, I never think of solid color kilts in this time period.

[Bugbear]

Actually it is contemporary Highland attire.

I'm not sure if the kilt worn by the musician in the first post is wearing a solid green kilt or just a kilt with a lot of green in the tartan; that is unclear from the book.

A long while back, someone criticized the wearing of a watch with white tie attire when I brought up the description of Adam's outfit (second post).

Still seems strange that there was no description of a silver cantle and sporran in that outfit.

[BLHS209]

A long while back, someone criticized the wearing of a watch with white tie attire when I brought up the description of Adam's outfit (second post).

Huh? Were they meaning wrist or pocket? To me it just seems strange not to wear a watch (any kind) to an event.

Chris Shepherd

[Jordan]

Huh? Were they meaning wrist or pocket? To me it just seems strange not to wear a watch (any kind) to an event.

Chris Shepherd

I think I was once told that at white tie events you shouldnt be looking at your watch (something about it being rude) so its best not to bring one.

Then again i might be making it up

[artificer]

I think I was once told that at white tie events you shouldnt be looking at your watch (something about it being rude) so its best not to bring one.

Then again i might be making it up

I believe that is meant to be the rule with black tie as well.

In a formal setting you shouldn't be concerned with the time.

[Bugbear]

I have no idea, I'm just reporting on what was brought up in a discussion on the forum. Others have said the "pocket watch" is fine for black or white tie Highland attire.

I'm going to guess that those shoe buckles, in the second post description, are cut steel as a possible explanation as to why they are shinier than the buttons and watch chain. Although, the fittings on the sgian dubh were also described as shinier than the buttons. It's probably not that big of a deal.

The novels have a whole lot of psychic things going on in them, and Adam uses a special sgian dubh with a clear blue stone in the pommel as a sort of ritual and magic tool; first described in The Adept, which is the first novel. There are several descriptions of the knife throughout all the novels, adding a little more information to the description here and there; it is also consistently spelled "skean" which is a little different than the spellings I see here on the forum. I am guessing this is the skean dubh mentioned in the second post, but the feature of the blue stone isn't brought up until later in the book: Death of an Adept, which is the last in the series.

[Bugbear]

Well, I guess I could give a vague review for the series while avoiding the plots of the novels.

Over in the Scottish ghost thread, it was said that the novels sounded like they had a bit of a "New Age" flavor to them. This is true. There is an element of reincarnation throughout the novels, and as I said, there are a lot of psychic rituals and divination going on.

There are also several human sacrifices, to evil spirits, described in detail, along with people being killed or eaten by spirits and monsters of one sort or another; lots of blood and villains, etc. Scottish fairy lore is incorporated into the plots, but there are other types of new and old spirit lore used.

Swords, knives, and daggers are used throughout the novels; sometimes in very strange ways. There are a few sports cars, but also some wild "edge of the seat" driving in regular vehicles. There is also some... romance...

So, what more could you ask for in a series of novels?