Book One of "The Jacobites." Centuries of endless feuds and cold
revenge. Decades lost in senseless betrayal and hot-blooded murder.
Passing years marked by awakening love and mindless passion. The
internal stresses of day to day life in the Western Isles are
marked by external interruptions from the south, from who sits on
the English Throne. Since the death of Elizabeth the first in 1603,
the Crown has been controlled by the Stewart family. But after
eighty-five years of rule and civil war, the Stewarts have been
pushed out. Now, brooding in exile, their leader, 'The throne of
England. This will be their final revenge on the foreign usurpers,
the House of Hanover, and their traitorous supporters. They have
tried before in 1715 and 1719, fanning the few embers of revolt,
which quickly fizzled out with lack of support. The inhabitants of
the north of Scotland and islands of the Hebrides are ardent
Jacobites, dating back from before the time of Mary, Queen of the
Scots. Pushed down, they have risen back up, time after time, to
fight again for the Stewart cause. This support for the Scottish
Royal Family has triggered constant flare-ups, interactions, and
switching loyalties. These dynastic and religious struggles have
been going on and off since 1642, with no signs of abating. The
Stewarts have been winning, losing, and plotting for the English
throne for one hundred years. On the Isle of Skye, other battles
rage on a smaller scale, but no less fierce. Three contesting
families push their young hot-heads to wage raiding, feuding, and
bloodshed; all for control of the windswept island. These tales
cover the lives of five generations of the Fawkes family. At the
heart of the adventures is their fealty to the clan MacKellan and
its chief, and the interactions of their clan with the other two
clans that share the Isle of Skye on the northwest coast of
Scotland. This struggle has lasted for nearly seven hundred years,
the scales tilting back and forth between two ancient adversaries,
the MacDonald and the MacLeod. The Clan MacDonald and the Clan
MacLeod have fought many a bloody battle against each other, and
the Isle split between them. Three hundred years ago, a band of
newcomers, under the banner of the MacKellans, left their home on
Mull, and landed on the peninsula of Sleat. They found easy prey in
the once powerful MacDonalds, who were weakened by plague and
decades of war. The MacKellans pushed them off the peninsula of
Sleat, and took up residence at Armadale. The MacDonalds
reestablished their seat of power in the northeast of the isle near
the town of Thorsglen. The Laird of the MacKellans has taken up
residence in the MacDonalds former castle, "Gallowglass." The
three-story castle takes its name from the mercenary Norse-Scottish
warriors who fought in Ireland. Peace is common now, even
intermarriage among the laird's families, just an occasional
scruffy bandit, or cattle thief to mar the 'Pax Britannica' of the
United Kingdom of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Sir Donald
'Black Donald' MacDonald, the Laird of the MacDonalds, is growing
in wealth and power. He wants their ancestral lands back from the
intruding MacKellans. Black Donald is plotting his return to Sleat.
Death. Death to the last of his enemies.
General
Imprint: |
Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Release date: |
April 2012 |
First published: |
April 2012 |
Illustrators: |
Gwen Buchanan
|
Authors: |
Kevin John Grote
|
Dimensions: |
229 x 152 x 21mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Paperback - Trade
|
Pages: |
402 |
ISBN-13: |
978-1-4679-8261-0 |
Categories: |
Books >
Fiction >
Genre fiction >
Historical fiction
|
LSN: |
1-4679-8261-X |
Barcode: |
9781467982610 |
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