Flight of the Heron read-along: Prologue

[regshoe]

The news frae Moidart cam yestreen will soon gar mony ferlie...

Welcome everyone to the Flight of the Heron read-along! I'm delighted by the amount of interest there's been in this lovely book recently, and I hope this will be a great opportunity to discuss it in more depth.

Some notes:

A reminder of where to find the novel as a free ebook and a free audiobook.

My plan is to cover two chapters in most weeks, but I thought we'd start with just the Prologue, partly to provide a gentle introduction and partly because it makes it easier to split the rest of the book up in a way that makes sense.

We have a mixture of people re-reading the book and people reading it for the first time participating, so, if you've read the book before and would like to discuss earlier chapters in the context of what happens later on, please warn for or hide spoilers! I suggest using rot13, if that works for everyone.

Next week we'll read Part I chapters 1 and 2, and meet Keith Windham...

Comments

[regshoe]

I knew almost nothing about the Jacobites when I first got into FotH, and learning about all the history has been one of the most fun parts of the fandom! I hope you enjoy it too. And I intend to keep reccing Jacobite folk music throughout the read-along, because there's a lot of great stuff :D

"Wow, they sound like a Great Old Ones' Bookclub." XD

XD It does have its humour value!

[dr_zook]

I admit my first contact with Jacobites was the fact that my spouse obviously descends from one of Prussian Frederick's Keiths (well, not the super homo one, but the other), and trying to understand how he ended up there also requires parts of this particular British history. It's complicated!

I'm happily looking forward to learning more. Fandom is so powerful in that regard! ♥

Am I an evil person for wanting a FotH/Lovecraft crossover now?? :D

[luzula]

Ha ha, well, the first time I heard of the Jacobites I mixed them up with the Jacobins. Really not the same thing... *g*

one of Prussian Frederick's Keiths

George Keith or Peter von Keith? *curious* There's a DW comm for people in Frederick the Great fandom, btw: rheinsberg.

[dr_zook]

Thank you for introducing me to the Jacobins! :D

Oh, it's probably James Keith, who looked shockingly like my spouse's father, haha. Rather disturbing. ;) Also, he spawned several kids, and the late genealogy obsessed great-aunt of my spouse dug pretty far back in time to be able to more or less confirm this.

Thank you for the link to that comm! Some members of it already got acquainted with my spouse, heh. :)

[regshoe]

Jacobites, Jacobins, Jacobeans—so many names to keep straight, really...

Oh, wow—I remember coming across James Keith and his family in some Jacobite history research I did for a fic—very cool that you're related to them!

[dr_zook]

My brain is overheating already. ;)

Haha, related by marriage I'd say as a clever way to return to Broster. :D

[luzula]

Ah, James Keith! I put a mention of his brother George in a fic recently...

What an apple-cheeked gentleman.

[dr_zook]

What an apple-cheeked gentleman. - Haha, meet my father-in-law, seriously. ;)