A Legend of Montrose [Paperback]

Sir Walter Scott (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 3, 2006 | ISBN-10: 1406912212 | ISBN-13: 978-1406912210

Notwithstanding the proverbial epicurism of the English, --proverbial, that is to say, in Scotland at the period,--the English visitors made no figure whatever at the entertainment, compared with the portentous voracity of Captain Dalgetty, although that gallant soldier had already displayed much steadiness and pertinacity in his attack upon the lighter refreshment set before them at their entrance, by way of forlorn hope.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 196 pages
• Publisher: Hard Press (November 3, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1406912212
• ISBN-13: 978-1406912210
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,741,083 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars February 2, 1645: Earl of Montrose Thumps Clan Campbell at Inverlochy, July 30, 2007

By 

T. Patrick Killough "All about Patrick" (Black Mountain, NC United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Legend of Montrose (Large Print) (Paperback)

On February 2, 1645 Royalist Forces supporting King Charles I, after a forced march through snow covered mountains, routed the superior forces arrayed against them at Inverlochy in west central Scotland. Never before or since did mighty Highlands Clan Campbell ("The Campbells Are Coming!") suffer such a military defeat. Their conqueror was their hereditary enemy James Graham, Earl of Montrose. For a few months in 1644-5 Montrose rallied dispirited, outgunned Royalists in support of their embattled King Charles Stuart. Once the King surrendered, he ordered Montrose to lay down his arms. The dreaded earl sailed for Norway and the Campbells, led by the Marquis of Argyl, took fearful revenge on all the lesser clans that had risen against them under Montrose.

Other players of Scott's novel include Annot Lyle, a beautiful 17-year old, protected by two noble brothers, clan chief Angus and Allan M'Aulay. They had spared her life 15 years earlier when slaying members of the bandit clan MacEagh, "Sons of the Mist." The Sons of the Mist had earlier and secretly spared the young girl's life when they had burned a castle belonging to Sir Duncan Campbell and killed three others of his children.

Allan M'Aulay is a strong giant, troubled in mind after his mother was terrified when the Chldren of the Mist had severed her brother's head and served it to her at a meal. Allan's lifetime mission: to avenge his uncle and to decapitate MacEaghs wherever he finds them. Both he and his friend the handsome young Earl of Menteith love the radiant Annot Lyle but will not marry her because they cannot prove she is of noble birth.

That Annot Lyle is noble is revealed in a prison of the Campbells to a 40-something mercenary recruit of Montrose, Dugald Dalgetty. After nearly 30 years fighting for all sides in the religious wars in Germany, Dalgetty has come home to Scotland for money and to regain his family's lost estate of Drumthwacket. He begins as Captain Dalgetty, is soon promoted to Major by Montrose and is ultimately knighted after leading the horse at the victorious battle of Inverlochy. Meanwhile he has bored many with his endless reminiscenses of his studies in Aberdeen and his campaigns in Germany, especially under his hero, King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden. Captain Dalgetty so revered that monarch that he named his own horse Gustavus. After Gustavus is shot at Inverlochy by Sir Duncan Campbell, who had refused Dalgetty's offer of quarter, the new knight Sir Dugald resolves to skin Gustavus to make warm trousers against the Scottish winter.

Life goes on in Scotland, no matter how much world history is being created to the south in England by the Civil Wars. Once Annot Lyle is acknowledged suitably noble, she chooses to marry Lord Menteith. This enrages his best friend Allan M'Aulay who stabs Menteith on his wedding day, but not fatally. After the dust settles in 1660 and the Stuarts resume their thrones, Menteith regains public honor and Dalgetty marries the Presbyterian widow of the man who had acquired Dalgetty's old estate of Drumthwacket.

Despite being one of Walter Scott's shorter novels, MONTROSE is action-packed. Captain Dugald Dalgetty is one of Scott's greatest comic creations. Scotsmen are shown in the colorful twilight of their feudal system, with its unending hatreds of clan for clan, competing religions and Highland versus Lowland. A comic masterpiece. A slice of Scottish history and society. -OOO-

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Outworkings of the Civil War in 17th Century Scotland, March 7, 2008

By 

Leslie Richford (Selsingen, Lower Saxony) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Legend of Montrose (Clear Print) (Paperback)

Sir Walter Scott: A Legend of Montrose (Clear Print). Teddington: The Echo Library, n. d. 356 pages.

"A Legend of Montrose" was originally published in the same year as "The Bride of Lammermoor" and was Scott's last Scottish novel before he turned to "Ivanhoe" and more general historical themes. Ostensibly, the story is about the battles between Highland royalists and their Presbyterian or Covenanter counterparts at the time of the Civil War (in the 1640's). The Earl of Montrose leads an army of Highland "gillies" under the command of their clan leaders through various adventures in Perthshire, Argyle and further to the north. The climax is the battle between Montrose's forces and those led by the Duke of Argyle. However, Scott would not be Scott if he did not weave a fascinating pattern of more personal interest. The central character here is Dugald Dalgetty, a verbose and opinionated ex-mercenary who falls in with Montrose's army and plays a leading role in the campaign. We also meet the Earl of Menteith and follow the history of his love for Annot Lyle, an orphan who has been befriended and is also loved by the younger brother of the Highland chieftain Angus M'Aulay.

In order not to spoil the story, I won't tell more, but this is enough to show that there are strains of "Waverley" here. And, true to form, the book is full of translations of supposedly ancient Gaelic poetry (this was the time of "Ossian") and peppered with Gaelic and other Scottish expressions. The Echo Library Clear Print edition reproduces in fairly large, clear print not only the novel itself but also the introduction from the 1830 edition of Scott's works. Scott's longer notes are printed at the end, the shorter ones are included within square parentheses in the text. There are no editor's notes and no glossary. The book is well-bound and does not fall apart while being read. I did find about half-a-dozen printing errors, mainly spelling, but these were not serious enough to cause any misunderstanding. "A Legend of Montrose" is not one of Scott's major novels. but those who enjoy his beautifully exact descriptions of Scots life and customs in previous centuries will not want to miss it.