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Culloden John Prebble

Culloden By John Prebble

Culloden by John Prebble


£4.80
New RRP £14.99
Condition - Very Good
9 in stock

Summary

The detail for the story told in Culloden has come from regimental Order Books and manuals, from contemporary newspapers and magazines, from the letters and memoirs of soldiers and officers, eye-witness accounts of atrocity and persecution, and the personal stories of the victims themselves.

Culloden Summary

Culloden by John Prebble

This is the story of ordinary men and women involved in the Rebellion, who were described on the gaol registers and regimental rosters of the time as 'Common Men'. There is little in this book about Bonnie Prince Charlie and other principals of the last Jacobite Rising of 1745. Culloden recalls them by name and action, presenting the battle as it was for them, describing their life as fugitives in the glens or as prisoners in the gaols and hulks, their transportation to the Virginias or their deaths on the gallows at Kennington Common. The book begins in the rain at five o'clock on the morning of Wednesday, 16 April 1746, when the Royal Army marched out of Nairn to fight the clans on Culloden Moor. It is not a partisan book, its feeling is for the 'Common Men' on both sides - John Grant charging with Clan Chatten and seeing the white gaiters of the British infantry suddenly as the east wind lifted the cannon smoke, and Private Andrew Taylor in a red coat waiting for Clan Chatten to reach him, likening them to 'a troop of hungry wolves'. Culloden reminds us, too, that many of the men who harried the glens as ruthlessly as the Nazis in Occupied Europe were in fact Scots themselves. It recalls the fact that many men in Prince Charles' army had been forced to join him. It shows that a British foot-soldier's wish for a sup of brandy on a cold morning before battle is as much a reality as a Prince's pretensions to a throne. The detail for the story told in Culloden has come from regimental Order Books and manuals, from contemporary newspapers and magazines, from the letters and memoirs of soldiers and officers, eye-witness accounts of atrocity and persecution, and the personal stories of the victims themselves. Culloden is the story not of a Prince, but of a people.

Culloden Reviews

[Culloden] is romantic and tragic, and helped me, as a London boy, to develop a love of Scotland that lasted my whole life. -- David Aaronovitch * The Week *
Prebble and Scotland down the years have become as inseparable as oatcakes and whisky. He has...succeeded in giving the Scots a fresh awareness of their past. * Daily Telegraph *
One of Prebble's great strengths is his ability to empathise with his subject matter. * Daily Mail *
Marked by formidable research and passionate commitment to the cause of the poorest. * Spectator *
One of our leading historians, whose works...are as scholarly as they are readable * Observer *

About John Prebble

John Prebble was born in the UK in 1915 but spent his boyhood in Canada. He became a journalist in 1934 and went on to become an historian, novelist, film-writer and the author of several highly praised plays and dramatised documentaries for BBC TV and Radio. He became interested in Culloden when he was a boy in a predominantly Scottish township in Canada. He died in January 2001.

Additional information

GOR002227731
9780712668200
0712668209
Culloden by John Prebble
Used - Very Good
Paperback
Vintage
20020502
368
N/A
Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
This is a used book - there is no escaping the fact it has been read by someone else and it will show signs of wear and previous use. Overall we expect it to be in very good condition, but if you are not entirely satisfied please get in touch with us

Customer Reviews - Culloden