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MacGregor's Bargain
Historical novelMacGregor’s Bargain by Rowena Williamson For half a century, the Jacobites have rebelled against Britain in an attempt to reclaim Scotland’s throne for the exiled House of Stuart. Now, tensions are building and the Battle of Culloden looms in the future, with the fate of Great Britain at stake. It is the summer of 1744 and Scotland is about to change forever. Set amidst the mysterious, sweeping mountainsides of the Scottish Highlands and in the seductive city of Paris, MacGregor’s Bargain is a gripping story of love, loyalty and betrayal, hope and devastation, and accounts of human strength and vulnerability buried between the pages of history. In light of the ongoing Jacobite rebellion, Niall MacGregor, a wealthy soldier of fortune, member of an outlawed clan, sees hope for a free Scotland, and a chance, by marrying Anne Drummond, disgraced heiress to a castle on Loch Laggan, to own land and start a dynasty. Anne, whose behavior has made her an unsuitable bride for any man in her own class, accepts the marriage as a way to protect her people. But she sees horrifying visions of bloodshed and destruction. Niall is determined to fight for Scottish independence, and Anne is cursed with the power to know the outcome. Torn between her loyalty to her husband and her loyalty to the clan she is destined to protect, Anne must make a choice, harder after the birth of a daughter. A close friend is thought to be an English spy, causing a rift between Anne and Niall. Anne grows to know her husband, and develop love for him. He still seems to see their marriage as a mere bargain, making their destinies unclear as ominous signs of Scotland’s fate develop. Written by Rowena Williamson, an exciting new award winning author, MacGregor’s Bargain is based on years of extensive research. The story is one steeped in romance and rebellion, and the characters of Niall and Anne will not be soon forgotten. But what does destiny have in store for them? Can the Jacobites disprove Anne’s visions and finally defeat the British? And can Anne and Niall find love before it’s too late? "Well plotted, richly imagined, and evocative. I am a champion of Rowena's writing." Bharti Kirchner, whose soon-to-released fifth novel is Tulip Season: A Mitra Basu Mystery.
275 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 22, 2012
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May 9, 2020
Romance and History in the Highlands
This interesting historical romance from 2012 feels more like a novel penned in 1912, harkening back to the style of S. Fowler Wright and his inspiration, the great Scottish writer Sir Walter Scott, combined with the sexual escapades of James Branch Cabell. It evokes a time when novels were novels, an art form to be enjoyed by the fire with your cat while you experience explosive battles and equally fiery romance from the comfort of your favorite chair.
The timeframe of the narrative occurs during events leading up to the Jacobite uprising in 1745. The Jacobites were a political faction who believed in the divine succession of kings, and supported restoring James Stuart as King of England, Ireland and Scotland. Since the late 1600s, the Stuarts had been trying to reassert their claim as rightful heirs to the throne. James Francis Edward Stuart, the closest natural heir, was barred from succession by bigoted English laws at the time because he was Catholic. Instead, the Protestant King George of the German royal house of Hanover was given the crown. Many countries did not recognize the Hanover line in control of the British Empire, and Scotland was one of them. The Scots were part of multiple uprisings against Hanover rule, the last being in 1745 when the Jacobites were ultimately defeated and thus ended the Stuart aspirations.
This is the story of one Scotsman, Niall MacGregor, who allies with the Jacobite cause, and his wife Anne Drummond, who thinks this allegiance to the Stuarts is silly and futile. Their arranged marriage, which is the aforementioned "MacGregor's bargain" from the title, was already based on rocky territory. But the political differences between Anne and Niall cause further tensions between them which escalates at the same time as the Scots attack the redcoats.
"MacGregor's Bargain" is very well researched and packed with historical figures and phrases that really transports the reader into another land and another time. If you like historical dramas that seamlessly entwine history into the narrative so that the history is a driving force and not just a background, this novel is for you.
My main complaint of this novel is that so much is told to the reader secondhand except for the very bland daily intricacies of the rather privileged daily life of our main couple. We are in the bedroom with them during their sexual intimacies, seated among the guests of countless social gatherings, granted access to various flirtings and infidelities of Anne and Niall, and watching them order their servants to dress and undress them. For a full three-quarters of the book, we hear about plans for revolution from constant idle talk among the MacGregors and Drummonds over whiskey and brandy, but nobody actually seems to be doing anything except getting drunk and flirting with other men's wives. No wonder the Highlanders lost the Jacobite cause three times in a row.
Meanwhile, Anne rides her horse nowhere in particular. She pets her dog. She goes swimming. She plays her clarsach. She makes snarky comments to her husband. She changes gowns about umpteen times. And she has sex. Lots of it.
Seems to me that life under the dreaded "German-speaking" Hanovers wasn't half bad for these people. So it makes the reader wonder why there is all this talk of exchanging this relatively good life for one of fighting and war, tragedy and famine.
But perhaps that is the point. My favorite novels are ones that tend to step back and point out the absurdity behind some of the major events in human civilization. The author does a fantastic job shining light on how wrong it is to deny people things based on their religion or political sympathies, such as Niall's inability to own land because he has been "proscribed," and also on the comical yet tragic nature of blind allegiance to the point of self-destruction and war. And she does it all with clear affection for the cultures and people about which she writes.
The prose is beautiful but not pretentious, and has a rhythm and cadence which is very pleasing. I must confess that it does become a bit dry through the endless feasts, masques, balls, and drawing room gossip. However, the pageantry is broken up by some pretty steamy and sometimes shockingly tawdry sex scenes which somehow still remain within the boundaries of good taste. If you like that kind of thing, you will be delighted with the approach taken here.
Though I am typically not a fan of the romance genre, I can honestly recommend this bawdy little tale from which you might al
so learn a thing or two.
This interesting historical romance from 2012 feels more like a novel penned in 1912, harkening back to the style of S. Fowler Wright and his inspiration, the great Scottish writer Sir Walter Scott, combined with the sexual escapades of James Branch Cabell. It evokes a time when novels were novels, an art form to be enjoyed by the fire with your cat while you experience explosive battles and equally fiery romance from the comfort of your favorite chair.
The timeframe of the narrative occurs during events leading up to the Jacobite uprising in 1745. The Jacobites were a political faction who believed in the divine succession of kings, and supported restoring James Stuart as King of England, Ireland and Scotland. Since the late 1600s, the Stuarts had been trying to reassert their claim as rightful heirs to the throne. James Francis Edward Stuart, the closest natural heir, was barred from succession by bigoted English laws at the time because he was Catholic. Instead, the Protestant King George of the German royal house of Hanover was given the crown. Many countries did not recognize the Hanover line in control of the British Empire, and Scotland was one of them. The Scots were part of multiple uprisings against Hanover rule, the last being in 1745 when the Jacobites were ultimately defeated and thus ended the Stuart aspirations.
This is the story of one Scotsman, Niall MacGregor, who allies with the Jacobite cause, and his wife Anne Drummond, who thinks this allegiance to the Stuarts is silly and futile. Their arranged marriage, which is the aforementioned "MacGregor's bargain" from the title, was already based on rocky territory. But the political differences between Anne and Niall cause further tensions between them which escalates at the same time as the Scots attack the redcoats.
"MacGregor's Bargain" is very well researched and packed with historical figures and phrases that really transports the reader into another land and another time. If you like historical dramas that seamlessly entwine history into the narrative so that the history is a driving force and not just a background, this novel is for you.
My main complaint of this novel is that so much is told to the reader secondhand except for the very bland daily intricacies of the rather privileged daily life of our main couple. We are in the bedroom with them during their sexual intimacies, seated among the guests of countless social gatherings, granted access to various flirtings and infidelities of Anne and Niall, and watching them order their servants to dress and undress them. For a full three-quarters of the book, we hear about plans for revolution from constant idle talk among the MacGregors and Drummonds over whiskey and brandy, but nobody actually seems to be doing anything except getting drunk and flirting with other men's wives. No wonder the Highlanders lost the Jacobite cause three times in a row.
Meanwhile, Anne rides her horse nowhere in particular. She pets her dog. She goes swimming. She plays her clarsach. She makes snarky comments to her husband. She changes gowns about umpteen times. And she has sex. Lots of it.
Seems to me that life under the dreaded "German-speaking" Hanovers wasn't half bad for these people. So it makes the reader wonder why there is all this talk of exchanging this relatively good life for one of fighting and war, tragedy and famine.
But perhaps that is the point. My favorite novels are ones that tend to step back and point out the absurdity behind some of the major events in human civilization. The author does a fantastic job shining light on how wrong it is to deny people things based on their religion or political sympathies, such as Niall's inability to own land because he has been "proscribed," and also on the comical yet tragic nature of blind allegiance to the point of self-destruction and war. And she does it all with clear affection for the cultures and people about which she writes.
The prose is beautiful but not pretentious, and has a rhythm and cadence which is very pleasing. I must confess that it does become a bit dry through the endless feasts, masques, balls, and drawing room gossip. However, the pageantry is broken up by some pretty steamy and sometimes shockingly tawdry sex scenes which somehow still remain within the boundaries of good taste. If you like that kind of thing, you will be delighted with the approach taken here.
Though I am typically not a fan of the romance genre, I can honestly recommend this bawdy little tale from which you might al
so learn a thing or two.
Displaying 1 of 1 review