The latest in my re-read of Nigel Tranter novels covers the same period, James IV, as the last book, Chain of Destiny. However, instead of telling the story through James' eyes, he returns to a typical Tranter method of telling the story through a figure close to the action. In this case, David, Master of Kennedy and later Earl of Cassillis.
The timeline and even the basic story varies a bit from Chain of Destiny, although as they were written more than 30 years apart that is probably unsurprising. Flaming Janet Kennedy, is the sister of our hero, and gets more sympathetic treatment in this book as the King's mistress. James did clock up a few!
I have a close interest in the focus of this story as the Kennedy lands are just south of me in Ayrshire. The story starts in their main seat at Dunure Castle. You can visit the ruin today, appropriately situated in Kennedy Park. It is a ruin, fenced off for safety, but the cliff edge site gives you a flavour of what it would have looked like in its heyday. The little village and harbour is very pleasant with a pub and cafe and you can walk along the coastal path.
Our hero was based at Cassillis Castle, which he updated in the book and it became the main seat of the earldom, when James promoted him. The castle is more a country house today, having been modernised, although you can just about picture the medieval castle. Topically, it has just come on the property market. If you have a spare £3.95 million, it could be yours.
This isn't an all action adventure story. For most of the period Scotland was at peace, with the exception of internal revolts and some fights in the Highlands and Islands. What the book does give you is a picture of what a large landowner did in a period when new technologies, industry and farming techniques were being introduced. However, it does all come to a violent end, when David dies at Flodden with his king.
No comments:
Post a Comment