Recent reading
Mar. 20th, 2020 07:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
luzulaMy sore throat went away again; still washing hands etc. Hang in there, everyone. ♥ ♥ ♥
Culloden and the '45 by Jeremy Black (1990)
I feel likeregshoe and I are just bouncing books back and forth at this stage. Anyway, this was a good complement to Christopher Duffy, in that it has much more about the international situation and how that related to the '45. Which I do admit was sometimes a bit eyes-glaze-over: Country X is now attacking country Y! Now they are at peace again! Rinse, repeat, rotate X and Y. So many European wars in the 18th century, wow. : / I don't think his general analysis of the '45 was dramatically different from Duffy's, though.
I really get why Broster apologizes for taking liberties with the Earl of Loudoun's character--he seems to have been a pretty good guy. I read in another book that it was not uncommon that Highlanders said that they would surrender, but only to a Campbell. Of course there were clan rivalries, but they were still neighbors and would have to get along after this was over. Most of the harsh repression was committed by Lowlanders or Englishmen.
The Earl of Albemarle is kind to Keith in the book, but his main reason for it is that he has the hots for Lady Stowe. Here's what he thought otherwise: I [...] always feared from the bad inclination of the people in most of the northern counties and from their stubborn, inveterate disposition of mind, nothing could effect it but laying the whole country waste and ashes, and removing all the inhabitants (excepting a few) out of the kingdom.
Nice.
Culloden and the '45 by Jeremy Black (1990)
I feel like
regshoe and I are just bouncing books back and forth at this stage. Anyway, this was a good complement to Christopher Duffy, in that it has much more about the international situation and how that related to the '45. Which I do admit was sometimes a bit eyes-glaze-over: Country X is now attacking country Y! Now they are at peace again! Rinse, repeat, rotate X and Y. So many European wars in the 18th century, wow. : / I don't think his general analysis of the '45 was dramatically different from Duffy's, though. I really get why Broster apologizes for taking liberties with the Earl of Loudoun's character--he seems to have been a pretty good guy. I read in another book that it was not uncommon that Highlanders said that they would surrender, but only to a Campbell. Of course there were clan rivalries, but they were still neighbors and would have to get along after this was over. Most of the harsh repression was committed by Lowlanders or Englishmen.
The Earl of Albemarle is kind to Keith in the book, but his main reason for it is that he has the hots for Lady Stowe. Here's what he thought otherwise: I [...] always feared from the bad inclination of the people in most of the northern counties and from their stubborn, inveterate disposition of mind, nothing could effect it but laying the whole country waste and ashes, and removing all the inhabitants (excepting a few) out of the kingdom.
Nice.
(no subject)
Date: 2020-03-20 07:43 pm (UTC)Yeah, that's a fair summary of the whole thing, honestly :P So much royal drama, depositions, succession crises, etc...
I know what you mean about Loudoun and the Campbells, too—although that whole situation does make it more interesting in some ways that they did, ultimately, take the side of the Lowlanders and Englishmen.
And oh, yes, reading accounts like that one from Albemarle is always charming. :/
(no subject)
Date: 2020-03-21 07:25 pm (UTC)I went birdwatching today! Lots of herons. : ) Also what Wikipedia tells me is called a common pochard in English, it was only the second time I've seen one. And great crested grebes doing their mating display, awww.
(no subject)
Date: 2020-03-21 08:18 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2020-03-21 08:44 pm (UTC)I also noticed that it is dedicated to Violet Jacob, presumably the same Violet Jacob who wrote Flemington, another book I had heard of thanks to you, so then I immediately read that too. I found it to be quite a different book to Flight of the Heron (besides the obvious superficial similarity of being a gay Jacobite romance with two characters on opposite sides) and it was a bit hard to get into at first, but I ended up getting completely caught up in it, so thank you for that rec too!
(no subject)
Date: 2020-03-21 09:21 pm (UTC)I am so glad to win another convert to Flight of the Heron! It really is a gloriously slashy book. Have you checked out the fic? There isn't a lot, but basically all of it is good (er, maybe I shouldn't say that when a few of them are mine, but whatever).
Oh hey, I never actually noticed that FotH is dedicated to the author of Flemington. I wonder if they knew each other, and had fangirl talks together...I have still not read Flemington, but yes, I had gathered that it's pretty different.
Hope you're staying safe!
(no subject)
Date: 2020-03-25 06:31 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2020-03-25 08:59 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2020-03-29 07:42 pm (UTC)