regshoe

I don't know how much Broster's original target audience in 1925 could be assumed to know about the '45—I suppose it is long enough ago that it was substantially less far back in history when she was writing than it is for us now! It's a trade-off, I suppose—if the reader is familiar with Culloden, I think not describing it explicitly and letting the significant silence stand on its own is very effective (the general writing technique of writing around horrible things that the audience can be expected to know/infer is something I admire a lot when done well)—but if they're not, the author does risk being confusing.

That's a very insightful comment about the parallels between Keith and Alison—I've noticed some of those details, but I like your way of linking them together. And I think—hmm, going off on a tangent here, spoilers for The Wounded Name and "Mr Rowl" as well as FotH in the rot13:

Oebfgre unf ol abj jevggra guerr obbxf jvgu obgu na vqrnyvfrq urg pbhcyr jub trg n ebznagvp unccl raqvat naq shyy nhgubevny nccebiny, naq n fhogrkghny z/z eryngvbafuvc, naq fur frrzf njner guebhtubhg gung gurfr ner va pbasyvpg, ohg va gur svefg gjb obbxf fur qbrfa'g ernyyl erfbyir vg. Ynherag vf unccl sbe Nlzne naq Niblr, naq jvfgshyyl ohg jvyyvatyl fnpevsvprf uvf bja qrfverf juvyr gurl trg gurve unccl raqvat; Ureirl Oneevatgba fbeg bs vapbapyhfviryl snqrf njnl ng gur raq bs "Ze Ebjy" jvgubhg uvf eryngvbafuvc jvgu Enbhy ernyyl erfbyivat vagb nalguvat. V guvax va Syvtug bs gur Ureba Oebfgre svanyyl npxabjyrqtrf gur vapbzcngvovyvgl naq gnxrf vg gb vgf ybtvpny, gentvp pbapyhfvba va xvyyvat bss Xrvgu rira nf uvf npgvbaf ranoyr Rjra naq Nyvfba'f unccl raqvat. Naq V ernyyl yvxr gur vqrn gung fur qbrf gung ol znxvat Xrvgu na rkcyvpvg grkghny cnenyyry gb Nyvfba—cerfreivat fbzr bs gur fvtavsvpnapr nzvqfg gentrql, be fbzrguvat.

...but that's for my comment on the epilogue! :D

Ewen is so unlike Keith in this respect: he is deeply embedded in a wide circle of people who love deeply, devotedly, and unreservedly.

Very true, and I especially like your observation about love and honour—while honour and duty are important to both Keith and Ewen, for Ewen they go along with love while for Keith they replace them, or at least he tries to make them. That's a central part of what makes their relationship (as it is on the page, and for slash potential) so very interesting and good.