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regshoeThe hero of these adventures was the memorable Bonnie Prince Charlie (the Young Chandelier)...
—1066 and All That
D. K. Broster apparently consulted eighty books as historical references while writing The Flight of the Heron. I think it shows! While I may not be able to match her thoroughness, I've done a bit of reading about the historical background since getting into the fandom, and it certainly does help to put things in context and understand where the characters and plot are coming from—and it's been very interesting in its own right, too. A few people on the read-along posts have mentioned that they'd like to know more about the history behind FotH, and so I thought I'd share some recommendations for historical reading for those who'd like to delve into the endlessly fascinating subject of the Jacobites.
Thanks very much toluzula, who has done a great deal more fic research than I have, for help with putting this together!
History books on the '45 and the Jacobites
The '45 and Fight For a Throne: the Jacobite '45 Reconsidered by Christopher Duffy. These two books between them are essentially the definitive history books about the 1745 Rising. The '45 explores the historical background and the events of the rising itself in a lot of detail (down to notes about the weather on particular days), and despite the density I found it very engagingly written. Fight For a Throne is a revision and expansion of The '45 which brings in more material and goes into even more detail, although it's not the easiest to get hold of.
Culloden and the '45 by Jeremy Black. This concentrates on the political and military background to the '45, especially how the Scottish Jacobite situation related to international affairs, and considers the '45 as part of the currents of wider history. It's very interesting. Black has also written two more general books about eighteenth-century Britain, Eighteenth-Century Britain 1688-1783 and An Illustrated History of Eighteenth-Century Britain, 1688-1793, which are recommended for more general background on the period—the second is available to borrow here.
The Jacobite Cause and The Jacobite Clans of the Great Glen 1650-1784 by Bruce Lenman. Some slightly denser history—the first is a good overview of the Jacobite movement, where it came from, who did what when and why, how it developed and how it ended; the second goes into more detail on the social and political context of the Highlands as it relates to the Jacobites.
Damn' Rebel Bitches: The Women of the '45 by Maggie Craig. Explores the fascinating and various stories of female Jacobites, showing the extent and the diversity of the experiences of women in the Rising and what they contributed to its history—a great deal of it, it turns out. Written in a very readable style, and name-checks FotH!
More widely relevant history books
Clanship, Commerce and the House of Stuart, 1603-1788 by Allan I. Macinnes. More general Highland history, this one about the transition between social systems in Highland society taking place throughout this period in the context of the rise of capitalism and colonialism.
Country Life in Scotland: Our Rural Past by Alexander Fenton. About the history of agriculture across Scotland from the pre-enclosure days, through the Agricultural Revolution, up to the modern day. Goes into a lot of detail for a fairly short book, much of it fascinating. Read this if you want to know more about what exactly Ewen and his tenants are doing on the land at Ardroy! Available to borrow here.
Redcoat: The British Soldier in the Age of Horse and Musket by Richard Holmes. All about the lives of British soldiers in the 18th and 19th centuries, focussing on the everyday realities of army life against the background of historic wars. Full of fascinating detail, and very useful for background on the sort of life Keith is used to.
Contemporary writings
The Lyon in Mourning by Robert Forbes. This is a collection of papers, letters, journals and other primary sources relating to the 1745 Rising, which Forbes, a Jacobite clergyman, spent the years after the Rising painstakingly assembling. Absolutely invaluable for detail on what the historical events were really like for those living through them. Available in three volumes here, here and here.
Burt's Letters from the North of Scotland by Edward Burt. Letters by an army officer taking part in the construction of General Wade's military roads in the years before the '45 (you'll hear a lot about these roads if you read the history books above!; they also appear in FotH). Lots of context on the Highlands from the point of view of a contemporary English army officer, useful as background in general and especially for Keith. Available in two volumes here and here.
—1066 and All That
D. K. Broster apparently consulted eighty books as historical references while writing The Flight of the Heron. I think it shows! While I may not be able to match her thoroughness, I've done a bit of reading about the historical background since getting into the fandom, and it certainly does help to put things in context and understand where the characters and plot are coming from—and it's been very interesting in its own right, too. A few people on the read-along posts have mentioned that they'd like to know more about the history behind FotH, and so I thought I'd share some recommendations for historical reading for those who'd like to delve into the endlessly fascinating subject of the Jacobites.
Thanks very much to
luzula, who has done a great deal more fic research than I have, for help with putting this together!History books on the '45 and the Jacobites
The '45 and Fight For a Throne: the Jacobite '45 Reconsidered by Christopher Duffy. These two books between them are essentially the definitive history books about the 1745 Rising. The '45 explores the historical background and the events of the rising itself in a lot of detail (down to notes about the weather on particular days), and despite the density I found it very engagingly written. Fight For a Throne is a revision and expansion of The '45 which brings in more material and goes into even more detail, although it's not the easiest to get hold of.
Culloden and the '45 by Jeremy Black. This concentrates on the political and military background to the '45, especially how the Scottish Jacobite situation related to international affairs, and considers the '45 as part of the currents of wider history. It's very interesting. Black has also written two more general books about eighteenth-century Britain, Eighteenth-Century Britain 1688-1783 and An Illustrated History of Eighteenth-Century Britain, 1688-1793, which are recommended for more general background on the period—the second is available to borrow here.
The Jacobite Cause and The Jacobite Clans of the Great Glen 1650-1784 by Bruce Lenman. Some slightly denser history—the first is a good overview of the Jacobite movement, where it came from, who did what when and why, how it developed and how it ended; the second goes into more detail on the social and political context of the Highlands as it relates to the Jacobites.
Damn' Rebel Bitches: The Women of the '45 by Maggie Craig. Explores the fascinating and various stories of female Jacobites, showing the extent and the diversity of the experiences of women in the Rising and what they contributed to its history—a great deal of it, it turns out. Written in a very readable style, and name-checks FotH!
More widely relevant history books
Clanship, Commerce and the House of Stuart, 1603-1788 by Allan I. Macinnes. More general Highland history, this one about the transition between social systems in Highland society taking place throughout this period in the context of the rise of capitalism and colonialism.
Country Life in Scotland: Our Rural Past by Alexander Fenton. About the history of agriculture across Scotland from the pre-enclosure days, through the Agricultural Revolution, up to the modern day. Goes into a lot of detail for a fairly short book, much of it fascinating. Read this if you want to know more about what exactly Ewen and his tenants are doing on the land at Ardroy! Available to borrow here.
Redcoat: The British Soldier in the Age of Horse and Musket by Richard Holmes. All about the lives of British soldiers in the 18th and 19th centuries, focussing on the everyday realities of army life against the background of historic wars. Full of fascinating detail, and very useful for background on the sort of life Keith is used to.
Contemporary writings
The Lyon in Mourning by Robert Forbes. This is a collection of papers, letters, journals and other primary sources relating to the 1745 Rising, which Forbes, a Jacobite clergyman, spent the years after the Rising painstakingly assembling. Absolutely invaluable for detail on what the historical events were really like for those living through them. Available in three volumes here, here and here.
Burt's Letters from the North of Scotland by Edward Burt. Letters by an army officer taking part in the construction of General Wade's military roads in the years before the '45 (you'll hear a lot about these roads if you read the history books above!; they also appear in FotH). Lots of context on the Highlands from the point of view of a contemporary English army officer, useful as background in general and especially for Keith. Available in two volumes here and here.
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