Tales of the Clan Chiefs

Robert Hale Ltd., London, 1999, 192pp, 24 line drawings.
ISBN 0 7090 6273 7
£8.99

A collection of 40 stories associated with the chiefs of the major clans in Scotland. The tales which are based on historical events date from the earliest years, right up to relatively modern times, when the Highland Clearances ended centuries of culture and kinship.
Here are tales of stolen brides, drowned wives, severed heads, Jacobite fugitives, pirates, fairies, feuds, torture, bloodshed and battles.
Each tale is associated with an individual clan and includes an infamous chief or two, such as the one who locked up his own son in a dungeon and tortured him to death, another who found himself married to the wrong daughter and had to flee his father-in-law, and one who fought on the Continent with his Highland mercenaries, and another who was involved in witchcraft whilst plotting to kill his brother.
There are stories of castles being attacked by the enemy, regained by their chief, set alight or deserted. We learn of chiefs who lived in exile, too frightened to return home, and the internal feuds which decided who should succeed. Also featured are clan battles, some organized beforehand and others the inevitable result of two opposing forces meeting by chance.