Glencoe: The Story of the Massacre

by John Prebble

'You are hereby ordered to fall upon the rebels, the MacDonalds of Glencoe, and to put all to the sword under seventy.' This was the treacherous and cold-blooded order ruthlessly carried out on 13 February 1692, when the Campbells slaughtered their hosts the MacDonalds at the Massacre of Glencoe. It was a bloody incident which had deep repercussions and was the beginning of the destruction of the Highlanders. John Prebble's masterly description of the terrible events at Glencoe was praised as 'Evocative and powerful' in the "Sunday Telegraph".

Genres: History, Scotland, Nonfiction, European History, 17th Century, Military History

262 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1966

About the author

John Edward Curtis Prebble, FRSL, OBE was an English/Canadian journalist, novelist, documentarian and historian. He is best known for his studies of Scottish history.

He was born in Edmonton, Middlesex, England, but he grew up in Saskatchewan, Canada, where his father had a brother. His parents emigrated there after World War I. Returning to England with his family, he attended the Latymer School. He joined the Communist Party of Great Britain but abandoned it after World War II.

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an account of the Glencoe massacre which took place on 13th February 1692. It describes the build up over several decades and looks at the main players. The backdrop is the replacement in 1688 of James II by William and Mary: replacing a Protestant with a Catholic. The massacre was carried out mainly by members of the Campbell clan. It was the Macdonald clan who were on the receiving end. The Campbells were soldiers in the Army and they came to Glencoe in peace. They stayed and received hospitality for several days until their orders were confirmed. Thirty-two people died.
John Prebble was a journalist who also wrote some novels and for movies. He was passionately interested in Scottish history and this is part of a trilogy. The other parts being Culloden and The Highland Clearances. Prebble joined the Communist Party early on, although he left after the Second World War. He wrote a number of novels and factual books about Scottish history.
Here Prebble looks at the way the clan system works and examines the complex interrelations between the clans and the history of raiding which went back centuries. He pays particular attention to the MacDonald clan of Glencoe and to the political backdrop to the massacre. The immediate trigger was a demand that all clans swear an oath of allegiance to William of Orange. The MacDonalds did swear the oath but were late in doing so.
This is a good factual account of the massacre and the background to it. Prebble’s feelings about it are pretty clear, but he does a good job of telling the tale.

[Sean MacUisdin · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an exceptional work! The initial chapters are dripping with clan mythology and a very very rare glimpse of everyday life in the clan hierarchy from the Chief to the common highlander. The narrative is highly readable, though scholars may sniff at the pop history approach. What I most love about this book is the fact it moves beyond the normal dates and names approach to Scottish clan history and focuses on the culture - the role of the Chief, bard, and piper, the Tacksman, and the common clansman. Add to that the Gaelic history and mythology and this is a hard one to put down!

[Bettie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Every behaviour has it's impact so imagine this - as I placed my half-finished coffee cup down on the table, Prebble, who was my elevensies companion :

1 - Described Big Bang through to Sweden now
2 - Stood up and recited all the North land sagas learnt by rote (Snorri would have snored)
3 - Described local superstitions
4 - Listed the families, from first habitation to now, who had lived on this particular piece of land
5 - Described the timber industry from origin to modern day that produced my kitchen table.
6 - Described the ceramic industry from origin to modern day that produced my coffee cup
7 - Described the coffee industry from origin to modern day that produced my drink, with a special information spur on Colombia
8 - Pointed out the mini-environment that was now playing influences on my kitchen (light and shade, draught, temperature)

It is to this degree I now know the Glencoe Massacre story and have ordered Culloden on the back of it.

[image error]

'Let it be secret and sudden'

From the foreword by John Prebble October 1965:

[...]By 1690 the Highlanders were already regarded by many Lowlanders as an obstacle to the complete union of England and Scotland, and their obstinate independence of spirit - expressed in their customs, their clothes and their language - had to be broken and humbled.

Thus the stage was set for the Campbells, working towards a union, to break the MacDonalds of Glencoe within the sense of Mi-run mor nan Gall (Lowlander's great hatred).

~~~~~~~~
~
SING ALONG: John McDermott - Massacre Of Glencoe

(chorus)
O cruel is the snow
That sweeps glencoe
And covers the grave o donald
And cruel was the foe
That raped glencoe
And murderd the house of
Macdonald

They came in a blizzard
We offered them heat
A roof o'er their heads
Dry shoes for their feet
We wined them and dined them
They ate of our meat
And they slept in the house of
Macdonald

(chorus)

They came from fort william
Wi' murder in mind
The campbells had orders
King william had signed
Put all to the sword
These words were underlined
And leave none alive called
Macdonald

(chorus)

They came in the night
When the men were asleep
This band o' argyles
Through snow soft and deep
Like murdering foxes
Among helpless sheep
They slaughtered the house of
Macdonald

(chorus)

Some died in their beds
At the hand of the foe
Some fled in the night
And were lost in the snow
Some lived to accuse him
That struck the first blow
But gone was the house of
Macdonald

~~~~~~~~

Short documentary on the massacre

[Paul Dobson · Rating 4 out of 5]

After initially hearing about the MacDonalds of Glencoe, I knew I had to discover more. John Prebble’s account is well researched yet non-academic. His narrative is very lively and perfectly sets the time and places.

The first thing about this book that I noticed was the attention to detail. Prebble gives a vast history of the MacDonalds of Glencoe and surrounding clans leading up to the massacre. Afterward, he describes the eventual fate of the main players presented in the book. It felt very fulfilling to finish this.

And such a riveting tale of betrayal, deception, revenge, greed, and human nature. If you know about Glencoe and want to learn more, I recommend John Prebble’s book.

[Tim Pendry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prebble's Glencoe, already half a century old and rarely out of print, is narrative history at its best. It tells the story of a late seventeenth century war crime and it carefully apportions blame on the evidence and without prejudice (not easy sometimes in writings on Scottish history).

This is at least one crime that is not down to the English. Ultimately the coldly detached Dutchman William II gave the order for the murder of over 30 men, women and children in Glencoe in February 1692 but, as always, things are a little more complicated than they might at first appear.

For William II the Scottish Highlands more like the American West in the age of the Frontier than anything we would recognise as orderly - or perhaps like the Balkans at any time - was a sideshow in a sideshow, for even England was a sideshow to his struggles with Louis XIV.

This massacre was fundamentally a Scot-on-Scot crime, part originating in ancient clan feuds, part in Lowlander negativity towards Highlanders but mostly arising from the ambitions of a politically astute Scots politician, the 'Master of Stair' (Sir John Dalrymple, First Earl of Stair).

Stair was William's Chief Minister in Scotland. His ideological drive was towards something that is still a matter of political interest today - the Parliamentary Union of the Two Kingdoms. This was to happen in 1707 and, although he died during the process, it was to be his legacy.

The victims of the massacre were not wholly innocent (at least not the men folk since how a murdered child of four could be otherwise is a fact). They were bandits, in effect operating much like the reivers of the previous century at the border of the pre-Union Kingdoms.

But, for all the undoubted brutalities of the age, the intentional murder of an entire community - the orders were for much more extensive killings - was always outside the moral compass of seventeenth century Scotland (let alone England).

The book is interesting not only for the conditions that led to the crime and the apportionment of blame but also for the political shenanigans involved in inquiring as to who gave the order and why - there are lessons in this for today.

Political considerations had the Scottish Parliament, with a public horrified at reports of the atrocity, undertaking its own inquiry in a final pre-1707 burst of energy. But the King must be protected against Jacobite critics and so he was. Stair scarcely suffered at all. Quite the contrary.

The game was to pin it on a chain of command below those who planned the murder and protect a brilliantly slippery and cynical King from blame. It was easy to deal with the 'only obeying orders' defence and go for the military perpetrators and save the politicians. Plus ca change!

There are few truly decent characters in this story - even amongst the leading victims - but one comes out of it rather well, as do two officers who broke their swords rather than become murderers and the soldiers who connived at the escape of their would-be victims.

This was the old Commonwealth era Puritan Governor of Inverlochy (the garrison that sent the trrops into Glencoe), Sir John Hill, who did obey a key order that enabled the massacre but who tried every possible means to avoid it and who showed consummate honesty in the inquiry.

He was stuck in the dilemma of all soldiers - what to do when an order is clear? From a humanitarian position he perhaps failed to make the right decision but it is unclear what alternatives he had. He was totally out-manouevred by the political will and connivance of others.

A salutary tale told by a fine writer (we forgive occasional lapses into local colour that might or might not be justified by the evidence) who was also a fine historian.

Perhaps the only criticism is that the Scots of that era, caught between a Gaelic and a Lowland culture, seem to have had several names depending on circumstances (family, title or nickname) and Prebble is sometimes not good at being clear which one he is using at any one time.

It all works out in the end. What he does do well is get across that this was a frontier society, a marginal zone to Edinburgh let alone London, fought over for influence by political forces with no intrinsic interest in the natives.

As for the natives, these come across as somewhat barbaric but led by the sort of cynical opportunists with titles who would later clear these poor loyal and sentimental saps from the land (in the Highland Clearances) for profit.

As a snapshot of Scottish history, an easy conclusion to draw is that Scottish nationalism is a bit of a side issue here. Scotland was divided in 1692 and it is divided today. The problem was one of different levels of social development and an 'ancien regime' with its eyes on Paris and London.

Simply making Scotland 'independent' would make no difference to its people if its elites were beholden to Paris in the 1690s or to Brussels in the 2010s. London looks problematic not because of its alleged oppression (though this will change in the 1740s) but because of its utter indifference.

Well researched history and readable (once the scene is set with some dense material on the complicated familial and clan relationships of the Highlands), Prebble also provide plenty of material to suggest he has done his research. Recommended.

[Tim Mitchell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I first read this 30 years ago along with Preebles other books on Scotland and came back to it recently; his writing stands the test of time but as history, it is very dated.

Perhaps the most interesting question about Glencoe ie why it remains so well-known; despite what is often suggested, it was not particularly unusual. Other examples just involving MacDonalds include the 1578 Battle of the Spoiling Dyke or the 1647 Dunaverty Massacre.

Breach of hospitality was less common, but the very existence of the charge of 'Slaughter under trust' shows not unknown. This 1587 law was first used in 1588 to prosecute Lachlan Maclean, whose objections to his new stepfather John MacDonald led him to murder 18 members of the MacDonald wedding party in their sleep. The Dunaverty killings would also have been in this category since they allegedly took place after the garrison of 200 surrendered on terms.

My point is that the truth is far more complex and interesting. John Preeble is worth reading and Scottish history owes him a huge debt. His work was rejected by Scottish academics at the time because it focused on the abuse of the Scottish working class by their Scottish (not English) rulers. Hard to imagine now but the standard text on the Highland economy written in the early 60s by a Scot didn't even mention the Clearances. While radical in its day, he himself would have welcomed the resurgence in the study of Scottish history that means his work is out of date. So read it as a starting point.

[Douglas Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know Prebble writes a kind of history that is absolutely not acceptable these days, or perhaps is only acceptable when explicitly written as fiction, a la Mantel, but I admit I'm a sucker for his colouring in of detail, and trying to work out the kind of document he is extrapolating from at any given moment. It's also still quite an amazing feat of imagination to picture the reality of Gaeldom, undistorted by shortbread tins and Landseer etc, and to be honest it reminds me of the mountain cultures of Pakistan and Afghanistan, land nobody really wants, romanticised 'tribes', all honour and bloodletting, etc etc

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

From BBC Radio 4 - Saturday Drama:
In 1692 soldiers billeted in the homes of the MacDonald clan in Glencoe rose up and killed their hosts. Was this Highland massacre the inevitable outcome of a long-standing clan feud? Or were there other factors behind this infamous betrayal? Adrian Bean's play - based on the contemporary parliamentary Commission Of Enquiry into the massacre and on historian John Prebble's seminal book, Glencoe - dramatizes these tragic 17th century events.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Primary sources concerning the Glencoe massacre are not particularly thick on the ground, so I have been reading what few secondary sources are available. John Prebble's book is held up as pretty much the gold standard in the field.

The book can be slow-going at times, since it deals with politics, social mores, and intrigue all at the same time in the lead-up to the unfortunate event. Still, Prebble makes it as entertaining as possible given that it's non-fiction about a tragic happening.

Highly recommended for those with an interest in the topic.

[Seán McCloskey · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Prebble's mastery of Scottish history was unquestionable, his passion & ability to bring it to life was unbeatable. Like all of his history books, he not only allows you to view the scenes first-hand, he puts you right in the middle of the action. Fully recommended to any who wish to understand the truth of the Glencoe massacre. He kindly sent me a signed copy of this book, which I'll never part with.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

i enthusiastically embrace my Scottish heritage, even though I have a German surname. My bride has done some genealogical research and as far as she can determine, I am descended from MacDonald of Clan Ranald. My "conversion" to Scottish meshes perfectly with her reverence for all things Gaelic, to the point where we visited Ireland and Scotland two years ago this very month (We celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary in Ireland). Among the other places we visited while in Alba: Glencoe, the site of one of the most notorious Highland massacres in Scottish history (and there sure do seem to be plenty of massacres to choose from).

I have heard three different versions of the story: In the first, the chiefs of numerous clans grew weary of the savage raids and accompanying thievery continually enacted upon them by the Clan MacDonald. So they staged a bogus wedding to which all of the Highland clans were invited. When the MacDonalds arrived, the assembled clans threw off their wedding garb to reveal all kinds of weaponry underneath, and the MacDonalds were slaughtered where they stood. In version two, the MacDonalds were raided by a neighboring clan--either the Camerons or the Campbells, I'm not sure which. The MacDonalds, badly outnumbered, fled their lands and hid in a nearby cave. The neighboring clan barricaded the entrance to the cave and set fire to the blockage, suffocating all of the captive MacDonalds. These first two versions came to me as oral history.

Earlier this year I read Clanlands, by Sam Heughan and Graham MacTavish, two stars of the hit TV show Outlander. Heughan and MacTavish make regular reference to Glencoe: The Story of the Massacre, by John Prebble book. I happened to know that we had a copy. Our copy was somewhat ravaged by time, but the content was still the same. And that is where I learned yet a third version of the story.

In brief: It seems to me that a Lowland Scottish nobleman who bore the title of Master of Stair had grown weary of the repeated feuds between the Highland clans. The master of Stair wanted to make an example of one of the clans. As a Protestant, he believed his thirst for bloodshed would be sanctioned by God if he chose a Jacobite clan for, as the book calls it, "extirpation," as the Jacobites tended to be Catholic. In early February of 1692, two companies of soldiers under the command of Campbell of Glenlyon marched from Ballachulish to Glencoe, where Campbell asked quarter from the MacDonald clan. Amidst the feuding, each Highland clan viewed hospitality as a sacred trust, so they practiced it rigorously, and they welcomed the two companies and sheltered them in their own homes. Campbell of Glenlyon's final orders from Stair arrived on February 12, and at 5:00am of the 13th, the massacre began. Many of the MacDonalds met their demise at the end of a musket; those who didn't were left to perish in the concurrent blizzard. Only a very few MacDonalds survived the rout; most of those were housed elsewhere.

The truth is, I wasn't there. The only knowledge I can claim comes from books. One thing that can be said for John Prebble: His research has been meticulous. He is able to cite sources concisely. He even photographically reproduces many of them in the text. Prebble's version is beyond question the most authoritative version of the massacre that I have encountered.

This is not to say that the book is beyond criticism. Prebble wrote to a UK audience from the mid-1960s. An aging American in 2021 found some passages hard to follow, although I readily admit I may have been reading it wrong. Sometimes it was hard for me to decipher exactly who was who. For example, if my title were Michael, laird of Killiecrankie and 20th Earl of Argyll (just an example, no such title exists), I might at times be referred to as Killiecrankie, or Argyll, or the Earl, or even as Michael. In several places, a single person might be referred to in any number of ways, which got confusing after awhile. Also: while I tip my cap to my UK friends for their immersive knowledge of history, reading their books can be daunting. The text is dense and is presented in much smaller text than most novels that I read. After an hour of reading, I can no longer see.

Despite these minor matters, Glencoe is an affecting read. Prebble leaves a lump in my throat for ancestors who suffered a cruel and gruesome end nearly 330 years ago.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

John Prebble was an iconic popular historian who tackled some fascinating subjects. I've previously read his book on the the Tay Bridge disaster (The High Girders) and I've also got his work on Culloden to read. A keen student of Scottish history, Prebble's book Glencoe: The Story of a Massacre was a must-read for me, having some roots in the Highland McDonalds (not the McDonalds of Glencoe). Now that I've completed the book I have to say that it is a worthy title, filled with poetry, drama and fascinating figures. However, it's narrative is perhaps too colourful, too much in the spirit of a dated style of historical writing that doesn't have the same effect as more modern texts might. This is a worthy title, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I had hoped.

That Prebble writes with a most artful, nay lyrical style, is both one of his strengths, and to my mind, one of his weaknesses. Take for example this quote early in the book:

"But the real economy of Glencoe was cattle, short, black animals with shaggy hair, melancholy eyes and fearsome horns."

Or much later in the book:

"The commission sat in Holyroodhouse during the last week of May and the first three of June, a bank of scarlett and white robes, nodding grey wigs and the brittle flash of jewelled rings."

One can't deny the author's desire to make his history come alive, and considering both the narrative he is telling and his journalistic heritage it's no surprise that Prebble wants to paint a vivid picture. Glencoe: The Story of a Massacre is filled with all manner of imagery that is designed to both revive the long dead participants of the massacre and the world they lived in, whilst marking this as a truly Scottish history.The thing is, as noted previously, this form of prose jars with more modern conceptions of historical writing. I'm not suggesting that Prebble's work is overly florid; he acquits himself well and certainly makes his history accessible. The thing is, when one is more attuned to a style that includes more academic language and consistent footnoting. Prebble's work sticks out like a sporran on a nude laird.

One can't fault Prebble for his desire and success to give a fulsome discussion of the massacre, both as it stood in its own historical context, and withing wider Scottish and British history. He dispatches with no little effort the old myth of the MacDonald's being slaughtered in some final blood feud with the Campbells. Instead of that or other simplistic and folk memory based ideas, Prebble makes sure than many parties are given blame or accorded a role. William III of England, the Master of Stair, various Campbells, Argyles, British officers such as John Hill, and even perhaps the MacDonalds themselves had a part to play, It gets a bit confusing in Prebble's narrative as to who is who, but at the end of the book the culprits are named and to some extent shamed. Whilst there may be later books that challenge or affirm what Prebble establishes in Glencoe: The Story of a Massacre , but for what its worth I would suggest he seems to have the history convincingly explained. The depth of his research adds further credence to his work.

So would I recommend Glencoe: The Story of a Massacre? If you're a member of Clan Donald and/or a lover of Scotland and Scottish history, for sure. It won't please some readers, and it isn't an academic text. At its core is a tragic story of a part of Highland Scots history that is long, complex, bloody and perhaps obscured under the romanticised tartan cloak of later mytholigisers.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of the Glencoe massacre told as popular narrative history. It is very well done, eliciting a good sense of place and setting for one of the darker events of Scottish history. The author approaches the subject in a fair manner, and does not over-romanticise the events.

It is not the last word on the subject. In some ways he may be importing too much into the events, but this is still a good book and well researched. Not quite as readable as his excellent Culloden, he does nevertheless manage to look at the history from the perspective of those who experienced it close up.

The Glencoe massacre saw the deaths of about 30 people. This was by no means a unique event, but it became a symbol and that symbol of something and thus knowledge of it endures. This book will not look at other massacres, and doesn't really go into a deep analysis of the rise of the symbolism that followed, but it does carefully look at the events themselves and finds plenty of blame for the event to share around. A recommended read.

[Helen Robare · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an interesting book! I only heard about Glencoe from a song I heard Scottish Bagpiper sing at our local Rennaisance Faire. It intrigued me, but I soon forgot about it and continued on with my life. However, when I saw this book at a used bookstore: I grabbed it.

This is a very informative non-fictional book that reads like a fictional book. (Yes, I found it THAT interesting). From the song, it sounded like there were 2 Scottish clans (The Campbells and the McDonalds) who had a feud with each other. However, I now know that there was an English King involved in the massacre and the events that ensued!!! In fact, there was no feud between the two clans though they were not friendly with each other.

That was only one of the things I learned that some in history have written incorrectly. If you love history and especially Scottish/English history, then I advise you to read this book!

[Neil Stanley · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well researched history of a shameful episode in British history. The book examines in detail the tribalism inherent in the Scottish Highlands in the centuries, & the events leading up to the Massacre in 1692 & its subsequent influence on Scottish history on the events in the 28th century. I did, however, become a little confused as to about whom the author was writing about as many of the Highlanders seemed to be referred to by different names. Sometime the Clan name, other times the area or settlement name or an honorary name. Maybe this was differentiate between many Highlanders having the same name. All in all an interesting history of a tragic event in the History of Great Britain that should not be forgotten.

[andy noble · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book that anyone who wants to understand the truth behind the Union between England and Scotland. This was not a union built on mutual need, but on the blood of the massacre at Glencoe. This brilliant book brings this sorry tale of ethnic cleansing to light in a bitterly divided Scotland. The McDonald's were no saints as Highland clansmen, but to be murder in such brutal way and callous way. The defence from those who performed such an ill deed was rejected, but with King William himself involved no one was ever truly punished. Brilliant scholarship and well written, I am so glad a read it.

[Mark Nichols · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent account of a true tragedy. Prebble provides a detailed context, outlining the history preceding the event and describing the main characters. He also provides a rich picture of the landscape and the challenges of clan life. The massacre and its aftermath are well explained. I note that Prebble has written a few additional accounts of Scottish history, and no wonder. He writes as a master historian.

[Michaela · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought a great read . For me not too heavy and as much political detail as was manageable. The narrative has pace and the commentary is particularly interesting.places the reader into the Highlands and the context of the times. You can smell the peat houses burning. Feel the wrongness in some men's hearts feel the trust of maciain and only wonder at how such orders could be given and melted out. A fine book.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

An historical account of the massacre at Glencoe when the Campbells slaughtered their hosts the MacDonalds showing that it was carried out on government orders, not merely part of a feud. The Highland MacDonalds were seen as obstacles to the political union of England and Scotland and had to be destroyed.

[Rob · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had an understanding on what happened, before reading this book. I have visited Glencoe many times in my life. As a young child, teenager and the adult I am now. I read the Folio edition of this book, which perhaps enhanced my experience of reading it, but I have a much greater knowledge now of what happened in the event surrounding this Massacre. May they rest in peace in the Land o' the Leal.

[James Melville · Rating 2 out of 5]

I finally broke on p186 (after Prebble introduced us to his 1,287th character) and skipped ahead to the actual massacre…

I don’t care if the Marquis of Doncaster who was married to the Earl of Fife’s third cousin who was also known as Count Von Nisbett and close confidant of the third Prince of Bavaria had a son who HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS STORY!

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charmingly written and designed to stir the humors of outrage... Reminds me of Alastair Moffat, an amateur historian more recently able to profit from the bloody and romantic turns of Scottish history...

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very revealing, well written yet requires a bit of patience to read and digest as he colours in the background first. By the time of the main event there is a clear understanding of all the personalities, manipulations and tragedy. Definately will read his other books.

[Jeff · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had heard good things about this author, but I found this book an extremely difficult read. In fact, it sucked the joy out reading so much that I didn't pick up another book for 6 months. I technically did not finish reading this book, but I am definitely finished with this book.

[Jack Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read on honeymoon in Glencoe. Beautifully written and accessible account of a fascinating era of Scottish history and a stunning part of the country. But do read with a giant pinch of salt, as Prebble’s take is very far from balanced.

[James Marshall · Rating 4 out of 5]

A detailed and vivid account of the massacre of highlanders in 1692. Prebble, as usual, writes well and has done extensive research. It gets confusing with all the similar names (There are two Ronald MacDonalds) but it is worth persevering.
A sad mark in our history.

[jackie stapleton]

Where is Culloden by John Prebble

Always a great read by John Prebble but where is his book called Culloden that's a great read as well

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A difficult book to read, Not only for the contact but also because of the proliferation of Names, titles and feudsWhich led up to the massacre

[Eleanor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written and not dry unlike many history books. An informative account of a tragic tale.

[George Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best explanation and description of the massacre, based on politics rather than hatred between rival Highland clans.