Dynasty

From the Publisher

"Macleod's book is a delight, bringing to life the eccentric figures who used to rule Britain. Factual, well-researched, and enlivened by the author's humorous commentary." —Star (UK)

"Macleod writes vivid prose that does much to diminish the barrier of time . . . Macleod's writing is as entertaining as it is informed." —Caledonia (UK)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

The Stuart, or Stewart, dynasty ruled Scotland and later also England for a very long time. The first Stuart king, Robert II, headed Scotland in the 14th century, and James VI of Scotland became James I of England in 1603 after the death of Elizabeth. Even after James II of England (who also was James VII of Scotland) was deposed in a parliamentary coup in 1688, one branch of the family never abandoned its claim to the throne until the last of the so-called Pretenders died in 1807. They were a fascinating crew, and, as Macleod (No Great Mischief if You Fall; Highlanders: A History of the Gaels) points out, every English monarch subsequent to James I is descended from him and, therefore, from his mother, the notorious Mary, Queen of Scots. The author is a journalist who writes for a Glasgow newspaper, and his prose has a journalist's snap and flair. Unfortunately, he commits errors that a professional historian would have been trained to avoid. For example, his claim that before the Protestant Reformation "every science had been gagged and bound by the Roman Church and the dead hold of tradition" shows a remarkable ignorance of the history of science. Likewise, Macleod's anti-Catholic stance is tiresome. Macleod certainly entertains as much as he informs, but, in the end, those interested in a history of the Stuart dynasty would be better advised to go to that fine old sprig of Scottish enlightenment, the Encyclopaedia Britannica. Illus. not seen by PW. (Apr.) Forecast: The British monarchy and its history seem to be of enduring interest, but Macleod is not up to the standard of Antonia Fraser, and this won't sell like her books do. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

A former Scottish Journalist of the Year conflates the history of his nation's unhappy dynasty of "incompetent, untrustworthy, spectacularly unfortunate" monarchs and royal pretenders-from Mary Queen of Scots to Bonnie Prince Charlie. "The Stuarts began with a queen and her second husband. She grew tired of him and, probably, was part of a successful plot to blow him up. . . . Their glamour endures." With a journalist's eye for telling detail, witty characterizations, and breezy simplification, Glasgow Herald columnist MacLeod (Highlanders, not reviewed) wrings as much gossip, sex, violence, ineptitude, and wretched excess (with a few moments of glory) as are to be found in any three centuries of British (or, more accurately, Scottish) history. He traces the Stuarts back to a Breton courtier named Flaald, whose great grandson emigrated to England and had the rare good fortune of backing Henry I in his claim to the throne. Appointed High Steward to the king, the ambitious Flaald changed his name to Stewart and married into the royal Bruce line. Eventually, his descendant Robert Stewart (who "lacked either steel, self-discipline or any evident ability") inherited the throne in the 14th century. Subsequent Stewarts tended to be manic-depressive ne'er-do-wells given to making bad deals with England and siring too many illegitimate offspring. The Catholic Mary Queen of Scots, the (legitimate) daughter of James V and Mary of Guise, became a threat to the authority of Elizabeth I and the Protestant cause and was promptly beheaded. Her son, the oafish James VI (James I of England) was almost blown up in the Gunpowder Plot. MacLeod has little admiration for Charles I,beheaded during the EnglishCivil War, or the dissolute Charles II. James II "was a dull fellow, humorless, hard to like." The line ended officially with the perpetually pregnant Queen Anne ("a monstrous figure"), whose numerous offspring died before she did-although a few pretenders (among them Bonnie Prince Charlie) lingered about to make as much mischief as they could. A sublimely entertaining history. (14 b&w illustrations, not seen)