The hero of these adventures was the memorable Bonnie Prince Charlie (the Young Chandelier)...
—1066 and All That
This is a list of useful and interesting non-fiction books about history relevant to Flight of the Heron, Kidnapped and other Jacobite novels: books about the Jacobites and the ’45, books about broader aspects of the historical background, and some contemporary sources from the eighteenth century. It’s very much a non-comprehensive collection, but should hopefully provide a good starting point for anyone wanting to learn more about this fascinating period.
I’ve linked to free PDF copies where available—generally only the oldest history books and the contemporary sources are in the public domain. I’ve also given a very brief summary of each book and linked to my own and Luzula’s reviews.
Books are listed alphabetically by author’s surname, with books by the same author listed in order of publication.
If you would like an absolutely comprehensive list of Jacobite non-fiction, here is one (download link), courtesy of the Jacobite Studies Trust.
Culloden and the ’45 by Jeremy Black (1990). About the political and military aspects of the ’45, with particular focus on the international background.
The Killing of the Red Fox: An Investigation into the Appin Murder by Seamus Carney (1989). Readable account of the Appin murder and surrounding pieces of history; very good background for Kidnapped, for the information on Allan Breck Stewart’s backstory and future life as well as for the details of the murder and trial.
Damn’ Rebel Bitches: The Women of the ’45 by Maggie Craig (1997). About the varied roles and experiences of women in the ’45. Particularly accessible writing style.
Bare-Arsed Banditti: The Men of the ’45 by Maggie Craig (2009). Companion volume about the roles and experiences of men.
The ’45 by Christopher Duffy (2003). Very comprehensive and detailed account of the events of the ’45.
Fight for a Throne: The Jacobite ’45 Reconsidered by Christopher Duffy (2015). Updated version of The ’45 with even more exhaustive and fascinating detail. If you only read one book about the ’45, read this one.
Lochiel of the ’45: The Jacobite Chief and the Prince by John Sibbald Gibson (1994). Biography of Donald Cameron of Lochiel, with lots of information on Clan Cameron’s part in the ’45.
Pickle the Spy: Or, The Incognito of Prince Charles by Andrew Lang (1897). Only partly about the spy known as ‘Pickle’, whose true identity Lang was the first to reveal to history; also contains a lot of general information on the Jacobites in the years after the ’45. This book and The Companions of Pickle are of particular relevance to The Gleam in the North.
The Companions of Pickle by Andrew Lang (1898). Explores the lives of a few prominent Jacobites, many of them spies and traitors, during and after the ’45, as well as more about Pickle.
The Jacobite Risings in Britain, 1689-1746 by Bruce Lenman (1980). A detailed history of Jacobitism in British society and politics.
The Jacobite Clans of the Great Glen 1650-1784 by Bruce Lenman (1984). About Highland society and politics in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries as it relates to the Jacobite risings.
The Jacobite Cause by Bruce Lenman (1986). Short overview of the whole history of the Jacobite movement.
Bonnie Prince Charlie: Charles Edward Stuart by Frank McLynn (2012). Definitive biography of Charles Edward Stuart.
The Road Not Taken: How Britain Narrowly Missed a Revolution by Frank McLynn (2012). A more general book that includes two chapters on the Jacobites, concentrating on the radical aspects of Jacobitism and how it fits into the history of rebellions and uprisings in Britain.
Jacobitism and the English People, 1688-1788 by Paul Kléber Monod (1989). About the role of Jacobitism in English politics.
Culloden: The Last Charge of the Highland Clans 1746 by John Sadler. Concentrates on the military history of the ’45 and particularly Culloden; especially accessible writing style, with lots of quotes from eyewitness accounts.
The ’15: The Great Jacobite Rebellion by Daniel Szechi (2006). Detailed account of the other big Jacobite rising.
The Jacobites by Daniel Szechi (2019). Political history of the Jacobite movement, covering events at the exiled Stuart court as well as political developments in Britain and Ireland and the risings themselves.
Eighteenth-Century Britain 1688-1783 by Jeremy Black. Broad overview of the major features and events of eighteenth-century Britain.
Country Life in Scotland: Our Rural Past by Alexander Fenton (1987). About the history of agriculture and farming communities in Scotland, with a lot on the big changes and upheavals of the eighteenth century.
Redcoat: The British Soldier in the Age of Horse and Musket by Richard Holmes (2002). About the daily lives of British redcoat soldiers from the mid-eighteenth century to the mid-nineteenth: very useful background on Keith’s historical setting.
Clanship, Commerce and the House of Stuart, 1603-1788 by Allan I. Macinnes (1996). Social and economic history of the Highland clans in the eighteenth century, including but not limited to Jacobitism.
Burt’s Letters from the North of Scotland by Edward Burt (1720s-30s, published 1754). Descriptions of Highland life and society in the early eighteenth century, written by an English officer working on the construction of General Wade’s roads.
The Journal of Elizabeth Byrom in 1745 by Elizabeth ‘Beppy’ Byrom (1745, published 1857). The diary of a young Jacobite lady from Manchester, including descriptions of the arrival of the Jacobite Army and the activities of Manchester Jacobites.
Letters and Journals of Mrs Calderwood of Polton by Margaret Steuart Calderwood (1756, published 1884). Descriptions of the author’s travels in the Low Countries, where she went to visit her brother who was living in exile after taking part in the ’45; useful background for the lives of exiled Jacobites on the Continent.
Cobbett’s Complete Collection of State Trials and Proceedings for High Treason and Other Crimes and Misdemeanors by William Cobbett and T. B. Howell, volume XIX (1752-1771, published 1813). Includes the original court records of the trial of James of the Glens and Allan Breck Stewart for the murder of Colin Campbell of Glenure, with much historical information of relevance to Kidnapped.
Memoirs of Sir Ewen Cameron of Lochiel by John Drummond (1737, published 1842). Biography of the grandfather of the Lochiel of Flight of the Heron, an important and memorable figure in the history of Clan Cameron. (Our Ewen may well have been named after him!)
The Lyon in Mourning by Robert Forbes (1747-75, published 1895). Collection of letters, journals, eyewitness accounts and other papers relating to the ’45, collected and edited by a Jacobite clergyman.
1745 and After, edited by Alistair and Henrietta Tayler (published 1938). Contains the memoirs of Colonel John William O’Sullivan, chief of staff in the Jacobite Army, describing his experiences in the ’45.