Wild Scots: Four Hundred Years of Highland History

by Michael Fry

One bleak night in March 1603, a lone horseman galloped to Holyrood castle in Edinburgh, home of James VI of Scotland. There he knelt on bended knee and saluted him as King of England. The accession marked a union of the kingdoms and seemed to presage a Scottish renaissance. But while the lowlands were integrated with England, the outlying highlands became marginalized. Highlanders responded by consolidating their distinct identity, built around the unique feudal clan system, a Gaelic cultural heritage and a history of fierce resistance.

From the heroic blood feuds of clan chiefs to the dour asceticism of Presbyterian ministers, Michael Fry's encyclopaedic social history of the Scottish highlands focuses squarely on the people. He traces the ironies of their fate as emigration, forced clearances and the breakdown of feudal relations undermined traditional customs. But this is no eulogy for a dying era. Michael Fry shows that the Highlands simply had to modernise and traces the inventive ways in which Gaelic culture has adapted through to the present day.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

400 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Librarian's note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Michael Fry was educated at the universities of Oxford and Hamburg. He is the author of The Scottish Empire (2001), How the Scots Made America (2003) and Wild Scots: Four Hundred Years of Highland History (2005). He has also written numerous articles on modern Scottish history and several political pamphlets. He has contributed to most major Scottish and British newspapers and has been a weekly columnist for The Scotsman, The Herald and The Sunday Times.

Reviews

[Julia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book to be informative, but generally tired of his editorial comments that seemed to favor the lairds over the commoners. His mission seemed to be to debunk "myths" of clearances and poor treatment of the landed class. Instead, he favors the concept that the wealthy were gentle patriarchs and matriarchs watching over their people. I don't doubt that all nationalist history tends toward the hyperbole and simplistic accounts of the past, but his cynicism is a bit over the top. Overall, I believe I did get a good sense of highland culture and history, but I could have done without the author's agenda.

[Dakota Jones · Rating 1 out of 5]

Absolute rubbish. The author is beyond biased and seems to have something against the Highlands. I did some googling and he writes for the Scotsman which is a surprise and is pro- indy- also a surprise. I don't understand why he hates highland culture and Gaelic but he does. The opinions he presented of the clearances bordered on ridiculous. I got this book by accident and am glad to have read 'the other side' but I honestly feel one star is generous given the inaccuracies in the book and arrogance of the author

[C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wild Scots: Four Hundred Years of Highland History | by Michael Fry

I absolutely LOVE Scotland: the history, people, culture, language (Scottish-Gaelic), the land, the food, the smells, even the air! It is an absolutely beautiful and vibrant country, and it is my dream to travel there someday.

This book captures, essentially, the heart of Scotland. It is a captivating and controversial history of the Highlands that focuses mainly on the people of Scotland.

Random note: The first chapter is called "Bang It Out Bravely",
There also happens to be a note on Gaelic (Scottish-Gaelic) pronunciation, how superb! Though of course I don't need that since I know Gaelic fairly well after 2+ years learning it.

What others are saying:

"Formidable...superb...spectacularly audacious" -The Times

"Outstanding...closely argued, cleverly constructed, and best of all, deliciously written." -Literary Review

"Attacks and defends the personalities of the past with ferocious and infectious pleasure...excellent." -Glasgow Herald

"Sparkles with gripping details...first-class narrative." -Scotland on Sunday

Well there you go you adventurous reader, you! Go and explore the vibrant, formidable (if at times), fantastic world of Scotland.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

A slightly different interest than my current main project, but it was a great sociological look at the experience of the Highlanders in relation to the non-highlanders over the past 800 years. I can recomment it to anyone with an interest in the history of Scotland and the Scots.

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is really well written. Fry writes about well-known events and ideas with a turn of phrase that makes it fun to read. He also manages to succinctly describe the Wars of the Three Kingdoms: "It was a long, costly war of daunting complexity." Amen to that.