The Great Scot: A Novel of Robert the Bruce, Scotland's Legendary Warrior King [Paperback]

Duncan A. Bruce (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 25, 2006

Robert the Bruce was Scotland's greatest King ever. The Bruce, as he was known, was crowned King of Scots in 1306, a time when the ancient kingdom of Scotland was under harsh and illegal English occupation. As soon as King Robert began his reign, his army was treacherously attack at Methven, resulting in a calamitous defeat for the Scots which forced the Bruce into hiding. Yet, steadily between 1307 and 1313 King Robert won battle after battle. shunning pitched medieval clashes, and fighting as a guerilla force, a form of warfare which he, perhaps, invented.

The war peaked in 1314 when the Bruce faced a formidable English invasion. With brilliant tactics and resolute bravery the vastly outnumbered Scots defeated and routed the knights, archers, and foot soldiers of mighty England at the Battle of Bannockburn. And that's only the first part of this epic tale of the Bruce's long and event-filled life.

The Great Scot is a novel filled with valor, treachery, passionate love, journeys great and small, and people of every rank and situation-all from the pages of Scottish history.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Bruce, a banker by day, has created a little cottage industry of sorts with several nonfiction books of Scottish history, such as The Mark of the Scots (1996) and The Scottish 100 (2000). Turning to fiction, he tells the story of Robert the Bruce, Scotland's greatest king, from his unexpected victory at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314, when the vastly outnumbered Scots routed the English forces, to the peaceful end of a long and eventful life. The narrator Bruce chooses is David Crawford, soldier and confidant of King Robert, and the form, the retired Crawford's memoir written from the vantage of his sixtieth year and on his estate in the Scottish Highlands. Although not great literature by any means, the novel is still a fun read that brings to life characters and events we really only know about through history books. Anyone interested in Scottish history will probably enjoy this rousing tale. June Sawyers
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"This is the manner of real story telling over the ages."
- Lord Elgin, Chief of the Name of Bruce

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Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin (July 25, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312323980
• ISBN-13: 978-0312323981
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,144,373 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Scot, a great novel, September 12, 2004

By 

Robert R. Crawford - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Great Scot: A Novel of Robert the Bruce, Scotland's Legendary Warrior King (Hardcover)

I just finished Great Scot, the historic novel of the reign of the Scottish King, Robert the Bruce, written by Duncan Bruce. I found the novel not only well written but very entertaining reading. Mr. Bruce used a third party to tell the story that provided a very intimate viewpoint to a great man's life and times. This third party approach made King Robert and his historic contemporaries and the times they lived in very lifelike. This novel starts and expands on the Scottish freedom story started by Sir William Douglas, the hero of the movie, Braveheart. Also, this is a novel that is full of significant history that is presented as a compelling and integrated background of this great story. I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in a very entertaining novel of a great man. This is truly a great story for all to read.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you like a good story, you'll like this book!, January 17, 2005

By 

Robert Galella - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Great Scot: A Novel of Robert the Bruce, Scotland's Legendary Warrior King (Hardcover)

FINALLY a novel about Robert Bruce, one of the most, if not THE most, influential figures in Scottish history.
Fascinated by the life of Robert Bruce since my Scottish grandfather related the the legend of "Robert the Bruce and the Spider" to me as a child, I have been waiting for someone to tell this story. It was worth the wait! If you are a fan of adventure and heroism combined with a bit of intrigue and treachery, this book is for you.
Beginning with Bruce's murder of the "Red" Comyn, a bitter rival for the Scottish throne, the tale only gets better. Narrated by Davie Crawford, a long time aid and confidant, the reader learns of Bruce's early defeats, his decision to wage guerilla warfare against the superior English forces which began to turn the tide, and culminates with his ultimate victory over the English at Bannockburn.
With the immediate threat eradicated, "Guid King Robert" still has to face the danger of more invasions while trying to unite Scotland under his rule. Before his death in 1329 he lives to see peace between England and Scotland, final recognition of Scotland as an independent nation, and Papal recognition of his title as "King of Scots".
I really enjoyed this book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fictional Memoir by the Page of Robert the Bruce, February 27, 2008

By 

Shawn Marchinek "McDonald" (Washington State, USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Great Scot: A Novel of Robert the Bruce, Scotland's Legendary Warrior King (Hardcover)

The Great Scot by Duncan A. Bruce is a fun read and helps see the story of Robert the Bruce as if you were there. Duncan Bruce tells the tale of Robert the Bruce through the eyes of the fictional David Crawford. David happens to be in Dumfries on the day Bruce murders the Red Comyn. He becomes page to Robert the Bruce and from there on is swept up on the Bruce's trail to the Throne of Scotland, battling England and the 3 Edwards, getting recognition from the Pope and ultimately trying to keep Scotland free. David just happens to be in all the right places to give a first hand account of what happened in the historical events critical to the Bruces success, from the battle at Methven, the Spider's Cave, Bannockburn, the signing of the Declaration of Arbroath and the death of Robert himself.
The book is definitely a hero worship tale about Robert, but it is suppose to be the long lost tale of David Crawford so that is believable to a point. A few times though it seemed very cliché but this tries to include all the legends. Robert the Bruce was a great man and did an amazing thing for Scotland, but he was still a man and had his faults of the times. This book hints at them but glorifies his strengths for sure.
I enjoyed The Great Scot and would recommend it to anyone who reads and loves Scottish history and the Wars of Independence, not for the historical value but as entertainment to live the legends rather then learn the history.