The battle of Culloden was fought 275 years ago, on 16 April, 1746. While the date of the battle may not be as well known as 1066 or 1314, the battlefield itself, just outside Inverness, is an important tourist destination. Apart from this year’s being a major anniversary, Frances Owen asks, why and how should Culloden […]
Five surprising facts about Charles Edward Stuart
It’s the 300th anniversary of his birth Prince Charles Edward Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie, if you insist) was born 300 years ago on 31 December, 1720 (New Style), in the Palazzo Muti complex in Rome. Why is this surprising? Because, although ‘Bonnie Prince Charlie’ is one of the most recogisable names in UK history, featuring […]
Blood’s Campaign by Angus Donald
August 25, 1689. The English Army is besieging Carrickfergus in Ireland. Brilliant but unusual gunner Holcroft Blood of the Royal Train of Artillery is ready to unleash his cannons on the rebellious forces of deposed Catholic monarch James II. But this is more than war for Captain Blood, a lust for private vengeance burns within […]
Raising the Jacobite standard: Glenfinnan, 1745
On 19 August, 1745, a hastily-made red and white flag lifted in the breeze at Glenfinnan, at the north end of Loch Shiel in the Western Highlands of Scotland. It signalled the beginning of the Jacobite Rising of 1745 – but the chances of the flag’s ever being unfurled were in doubt until the last […]
Dance to the Storm by Maggie Craig
Edinburgh, December 1743. Redcoat Captain Robert Catto is between the Devil and the deep blue sea. His investigations have turned up compelling evidence of a real threat posed to the House of Hanover by a plan to restore the House of Stuart to the British throne. His duty is to draw out as many Jacobites […]
The Battle of Killiecrankie
To mark the 330th anniversary of the Battle of Killiecrankie, historian and author Maggie Craig considers why this violent confrontation still evokes memories as well as enthusiastic public interest. The Battle of Killiecrankie was fought on 27 July 1689. This bloody clash of arms in a mountain pass a few miles north of Pitlochry in […]
1719: the forgotten Jacobite rising
The Jacobite Rising of 1719: historian and novelist Maggie Craig tells Historia magazine why this ‘forgotten rising’ and the Battle of Glen Shiel in June 1719 deserve to be remembered.
Damn’ Rebel Bitches: Research Then and Now
On the 20th anniversary of her first book about the Jacobite Rebellion, Maggie Craig reflects on the research process, then and now. Twenty years ago this month I published my first book, Damn’ Rebel Bitches: The Women of the ’45. It’s never been out of print since and has been described as a modern classic. A […]