''Lady of the Glen: A Novel of 17th-Century Scotland and the Massacre of Glencoe'' is a 1996 historical fiction novel by American author Jennifer Roberson. It is a re-telling of the 1692 Massacre of Glencoe, and focuses on the romance between Catriona of Clan Campbell and Alasdair Og MacDonald of

Clan Donald Clan Donald, also known as Clan MacDonald ( gd, Clann Dòmhnaill; Mac Dòmhnaill ), is a Highland Scottish clan and one of the largest Scottish clans. The Lord Lyon King of Arms, the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry i ...

, each from rival clans. Roberson was inspired to write the novel after learning of the massacre in a British history class, and waited 25 years until she felt ready to tell it. ''Lady of the Glen'' was published by Kensington Books in April 1996, with cover art by book illustrator Anne Yvonne Gilbert. A German translation was released in 2001.

Plot summary

The novel is set amidst the background of the 1692 Massacre of Glencoe, which was ordered by King William III. Catriona of Clan Campbell, daughter of the Laird of

Glenlyon Glen Lyon ( gd, Gleann Lìomhann) is a glen in the Perth and Kinross region of Scotland. It is the longest enclosed glen in Scotland and runs for from Loch Lyon in the west to the village of Fortingall in the east. This glen was also known a ...

, falls in love with Alasdair Og MacDonald, a member of a rival clan. Their love must endure the political machinations of King William and the

Jacobite Jacobite means follower of Jacob or James. Jacobite may refer to: Religion * Jacobites, followers of Saint Jacob Baradaeus (died 578). Churches in the Jacobite tradition and sometimes called Jacobite include: ** Syriac Orthodox Church, sometimes ...

s. In August 1691, William offers all Highland clans a pardon for their part in the Jacobite Uprising, as long as they took an oath of allegiance before 1 January 1692 in front of a magistrate. Alasdair struggles greatly to meet this deadline, as the message reached its recipients in mid-December, in difficult winter conditions, only a few weeks before the deadline. The tension of this political situation is mirrored by the fraught romance of Catriona and Alasdair.

Development

''Lady of the Glen'' was written by American author Jennifer Roberson. She learned of the Massacre of Glencoe in a British History class she took at

Northern Arizona University Northern Arizona University (NAU) is a public research university based in Flagstaff, Arizona. It was founded in 1899 as the final public university established in the Arizona Territory, 13 years before Arizona was admitted as the 48th state. ...

, and thought "then it would make a terrific tale."Roberson, ''Lady of the Glen'', p. 415. She waited 25 years "until hefelt ready to write it," as she wanted "to do right by the story." Roberson did not realize until she began her research in 1985 "how much story there was to tell, nor how dramatic." For research, the author read John Prebble's "outstanding and invaluable" 1966 work ''Glencoe'' and visited the site of the massacre itself. Roberson has admitted that while she desired to be as historically accurate as possible, she "occasionally relied on personal suppositions and interpretations, and, where necessary, significantly compressed the time frame and chronology of events to improve the story's pacing." According to her, all of the main characters are based on real people; a MacDonald did in fact marry a Campbell of Glen Lyon, though Roberson changed her name from Sarah to Catriona and made her the laird Glenlyon's daughter, not his niece. She later listed ''Lady of the Glen'' among her favorite works.

Release and reception

The novel was released in April 1996 by Kensington Books, with cover art by book illustrator Anne Yvonne Gilbert. A German translation was published in 2001. Roberson stated in a March 2007 interview that a screenwriter had twice " optioned" the book but noted that this was true of many other works. Of all her period dramas, Roberson thought ''Lady of the Glen'' was best suited for film adaptation, and stated that she would love for

Sean Connery Sir Sean Connery (born Thomas Connery; 25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020) was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond on film, starring in seven Bond films between 1962 and 1983. Origina ...

to play the MacDonald laird. '' Publishers Weekly'' gave ''Lady of the Glen'' a mixed review, criticizing it for "offer ngonly a smidgen of suspense" due to its many flash-forwards. They did however laud Roberson for creating an "atmospherically real" Scotland, "which comes as no surprise from an author who writes acclaimed fantasies (the ''Sword-Dancer'' saga, etc.) as well as romances." ''Publishers Weekly'' concluded that those who enjoyed Roberson's 1992 novel '' Lady of the Forest'' would also like ''Lady of the Glen''. Another reviewer described ''Lady of the Glen'' as being "a pleasure," and Kensington Publishing deemed the novel "similar in theme to the recent films '' Rob Roy'' and ''

Braveheart ''Braveheart'' is a 1995 American historical drama film directed and produced by, and starring Mel Gibson. Gibson portrays Sir William Wallace, a late-13th century Scottish warrior who led the Scots in the First War of Scottish Independence ag ...

''." ''Lady of the Glen'' was listed among author Willa Blair's favorite historical fiction novels set in Scotland.

References

Works cited

* * {{Cite book , title=Lady of the Glen , first=Jennifer , last=Roberson , authorlink=Jennifer Roberson , year=1996 , edition=2000 , isbn=1-57566-129-2 , publisher= Kensington Books , location=New York 1996 American novels Novels set in Scotland Novels set in the 1690s Books illustrated by Anne Yvonne Gilbert Historical romance novels Glen Coe Kensington Books books