Sarah Fraser (1) (1960–)

This is the story of the eldest son of James VI/I, Henry Stuart. Henry, the elder brother of Charles (I) and Elizabeth Stuart (the Winter Queen of Bohemia), died in his late teens. In his brief lifetime he showed interest in the arts, the sciences, the military, history and architecture. He set up his own parallel court at St. James’s palace and took his role as a future monarch seriously. He received his own investiture ceremony as the Prince of Wales and was given a state funeral when he died.

This book came into my life at the perfect time: I had just finished reading Daughters of the Winter Queen, which follows the life of Henry’s sister, Elizabeth, and her daughters. Henry is mentioned in the early years of her life, so it was interesting to follow up the book about her with this one. It was written solidly, with footnotes and endnotes alike (endnotes being reserved for sources, and footnotes commenting on the text directly), and was assembled with diligence. Two sets of colour plates make a good asset. I found the bits about the masques most interesting, particularly when Fraser gave a play-by-play and explained what exactly the audience would have known and understood when they saw certain characters and heard certain lines.

I’d recommend this book if you have a basic knowledge of the period—it makes a very useful book for filling in some of those gaps and connecting existing bits of knowledge together. And as stated, it pairs nicely with Daughters of the Winter Queen, by Nancy Goldstone.… (más)

This is a biography of Simon Fraser, the 11th Lord Lovat, the last nobleman executed for treason. He played a role in the Jacobite rebellion and was present at Culloden. By telling the story of his life, this book also tells the story of a key period in Scottish history.

I didn’t finish this book. While it appeared to be well researched, and I like the fact that a map and family tree were provided as visual aids, the writing style didn’t engage me, and it felt like the story jumped around a bit between times and players. I was prepared to slog through, however, until I reached the chapter where it was stated that Simon Fraser raped his first wife ON THEIR WEDDING NIGHT. I had no interest in spending the rest of the book closely following his actions after that. I’ll find a different history of the period that doesn’t focus quite so much on Simon Fraser.… (más)

This book is full to bursting with historical facts of the Jacobien uprising in Scotland in the 18th Century. Almost too full sometimes and takes a fair bit of concentration to read. However it is fascinating. It tells the story of Simon Fraser, Lord Lovat the leader of the Fraser Clan, and a man of intrigue, a bumbling ninny sometimes, eccentric, ambitious and really rather a remarkable character! He seemed to lead a charmed life, as he was sentenced to death as a young man, but managed to regain his freedom after an enormous amount of political rangling only to be sentenced again as an old man of 80! He had many many faults but you can't help having a lot of respect and admiration for a man who would not stop fighting to attain what he wanted, which was basically freedom and liberty for his clan and the people of his beloved Scotland.
A really good story, really well researched and well written.… (más)