1745 and All That: The Story of the Highlands

by Scoular Anderson

This title focuses on the history of the Highlands from earliest times to the present day. With sections on key areas of Highland history and life such as clanship, whisky and shinty amongst others.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

164 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2000

About the author

Scoular Anderson was born in 1946 and brought up in Argyll. He studied at Glasgow School of Art, then worked in London as a illustrator.

Reviews

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars, rounding up because I enjoyed learning about 225 years of history (1745-1970s) in just 157 pages, including illustrations.

This was an entertaining way to document the vast and ever-changing history of the Scottish Highlands. There is a lot of information to unpack, which is quickly brushed over, one of the pros and cons of the book. This book should be read as part of a junior high or high school history class or with someone who understands the history and can provide additional context, as I’m sure I missed some things due to author’s brevity choices.

There is educational artwork on every page to help illustrate the historical context. For example, I found the illustrations on how men “put on the plaid (Gaelic - BREACAN or FEILEADH - BHREACAIN - the belted plaid)” fascinating! Or when the books talked about the different types of homes highlanders lived in, depending on the weather their plot of land was exposed to, and how to cut and prepare peat. The artwork is fun and helpful. For me, these insights are the highlights of the book, small but important details that tell the story of Highlander life.

I enjoyed the Gaelic translations, weaved in throughout. “Woman sang LUNNEAGS - songs to keep boredom at bay during daily tasks - at harvest time or grinding mead. Men would sing LORRAMS - rowing songs which kept everyone pulling in rhythms. PORT-A-BHEUL (mouth music) was singing to accompany dancing when there were no musical instruments…”

There are full page educational visuals. My favorite depicts the inside of a home with notes on item inside: cows kept home worm, chickens in the rafters, wooden vessels for milk and churning butter. The dresser would have a hood over it to protect plates from sooty drip from the roof(!), newspaper cut into scallops to decorate shelves(!), spoons made of horns. Short legged stools and chairs to keep people sitting low and one’s head below the smoke that filled the home because they didn’t have chimneys(!). I found these details fascinating

The editors missed a few minor copy errors and I wonder how this book would be interpreted by a teenager, who I assume is the intended audience. A great book for a history class or an introduction to learning about Scottish history. As someone who loves the Highlands, I was intrigued when I saw this book in my local Free Peoples Library, and just had to read it.