September ~ Book of the Month is White Rose Rebel by Janet Paisley




Ann Farquharson is a young highlander - tempestuous, bold, and determined to be her own woman.
Yet, the clan Farquharson- like its close neighbours and rivals- is under threat. The Highlands suffer at the domineering hands of English King George, while there are rumours that Bonnie Prince Charlie, in exile in France, is seeking to return and hoping to raise an army in a bid for the throne…
When Anne agrees to marry a clan chief, she is doing much more than taking his bed. For she and her supporters are drawn into the heart of the brutal and bloody conflict, and as the Jacobite rebellion escalates, she and her husband find themselves on opposite sides of the battlefield.
In a time when civil war is tearing the nation apart, Anne believes she can be a match for anyone
By sword, by conviction. By passion.

This book is an easy reading look at the 1745 rebellion, and is based on the true story of Lady Anne Farquharson. It gives an interesting, and compelling female perspective. Hope you enjoy reading it, I'm looking forward to reading your views when we open the book for discussion on the 22nd September


More here on Wikipedia




Find it here on Amazon.com


Book Details

Hardcover: 400 pages
Publisher: Overlook/Rookery (March 13, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1585679593
ASIN: B003V1WG2U


Happy Reading

I was impressed to learn that WRR is based on a real warrior and a woman no less. I wonder if Claire had ever heard of Anne Farquharson prior to her time travel in OL. This is a good book to read together with Dragonfly, especially the parts that deal with the battles leading to Culloden.

I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone made of this fascinating story - it's easy to read, but has an underlying strength...

Can't wait for the DiA rekilt.....love that book

It is In Transit to me through inter-library loan and has been for a while (almost a week now, maybe?) Not sure when I'll actually get it, but hopefully soon. I might not be quite ready to join the discussion right on the 22nd, but I'm sure I'll join in pretty soon after that.

I'm hoping that I can get a good chunk of reading done this Saturday. This story intrigues me.

Hope the book reaches you soon- don't worry about joining in on the 22nd - the thread will remain available long after that date - and all comments, thoughts, perusals are really important...just join in when you can

Just picked up my copy from the library (as I am going to read it while awaiting my copy of Echo that I ordered today ).

SPOILER WARNING

BOOK OPEN FOR DISCUSSION



September ~ Book of the Month is White Rose Rebel by Janet Paisley





Ann Farquharson is a young highlander - tempestuous, bold, and determined to be her own woman.
Yet, the clan Farquharson- like its close neighbours and rivals- is under threat. The Highlands suffer at the domineering hands of English King George, while there are rumours that Bonnie Prince Charlie, in exile in France, is seeking to return and hoping to raise an army in a bid for the throne…
When Anne agrees to marry a clan chief, she is doing much more than taking his bed. For she and her supporters are drawn into the heart of the brutal and bloody conflict, and as the Jacobite rebellion escalates, she and her husband find themselves on opposite sides of the battlefield.
In a time when civil war is tearing the nation apart, Anne believes she can be a match for anyone
By sword, by conviction. By passion.

This book is an easy reading look at the 1745 rebellion, and is based on the true story of Lady Anne Farquharson. It gives an interesting, and compelling female perspective.

Now that some of us have had the chance to read this month's selection, it would be interesting to see what we all made of it. Please post your thoughts, hopefully we'll all have different interpretations of the story.Don't be afraid to discuss, disagree and generally pull the book to pieces.

Happy Book Chat !!


A few thoughts:

• Was Aeneas right to act as he did ~ was he protecting his clan, or inciting further violence?
• What did you think about Ann ~ was she more laird that Aeneas?
• Did you think that the rebellion was well described – was it authentic?
• Having read Outlander and DiA – did you notice the references to the historically accurate figures: Lochiel, Forbes, Duke of Cumberland,Prince Charles..?
• Who was your favourite character, and why?
• We know that DG portrays Claire as a strong woman, attributes we associate more with the modern day –however this book, based on fact, shows that there were strong female characters back then, who were prepared to fight for what they believed in –has this changed your perception of that time?
•Knowing what we know from reading Outlander and DiA ~Did the author of this book capture the essence of that time, and were there any parallels?

• Aeneas or MacGillivray ~ you choose your favourite !!

Book now open for discussion in our discussion thread Here

Remember SPOILERS apply - so look with caution of you haven't read the book yet.

Look forward to your thoughts.

I was happy to re-read this book and just finished it this morning. It gives a totally different perspective of the Culloden battle than OL, in my opinion. Some of these observations work into Sassanach's review questions.

What struck me when I read this book was the position of women in Scotland. Ann gives a totally different perspective of how women were regarded and treated and I'm not sure which is historically accurate. Ann portrays women during that time as self-serving especially sexually. They take and leave lovers at will, they send the men off to do battle after making the decision of which side to choose, and their opinions are sought out and addressed. This is nothing like OL portrays women (virginal to the point of obsession, treated with respect but definitely lower in status than men).

The other point of view from this book vs OL series, is the side of the appeaser. Aeneas correctly sizes up the situation and sees his role as preserver of the clan over all else including his Jacobite leanings. While the clan system is decimated, the clan lands and those surviving families do have a place to return unlike the rebels who were indentured or worse. Even Ann sees that he is probably politically correct but emotionally attached to the Jacobite cause.

The one thing this book does do a better job and in a shorter amount of pages is detail the aftermath of Culloden. We only saw Jamie's flashbacks and those were limited. To follow the troops through the clan lands and see their destruction was very realistic. But you are also privy to the rationale behind this invasion between the English officers and Cumberland. I've read a few times that Sullivan was thought to be a traitor and this was also hinted at in OL when Bonnie Prince Charlie refused to allow the charge. But this book goes into a little more speculation as to what was behind the scenes of BPC's reluctance.

The real tragedies here, though, were MacGillivrey and Elizabeth, who loved people in love with someone else and paid the ultimate price (more Elizabeth than Mac since he died in the battle). If anyone knows the history a little better, I'd love to know if anyone is more up on the true roles of women in Scotland during that time.

Great book choice, Sassanach, since it ties in so well with the Book Club.

Found it was available at the library today...time for a Power Read

Pauline, I agree with all of your comments. I also was curious about the strong role women possessed in the clans. Perhaps it was common in the Highlands only, but this point of view is not represented in OL.

I would have liked to have seen Ann and Aeneas' relationship grow a bit more. They didn't seem to have much allegiance to each other and assumed the worst of one another's behavior. Ann completely disregards his authority and takes off with MacGillvrey, who she never seemed to love completely.

The violence was brutal and made DiA seem like a walk in the park in comparison. We see glimpses of the aftermath of Culloden through Ms. Campbell and her brother, who are both deranged, in Voyager, but nothing compared to the brutality depicted in WRR.

I found some information on Ann Farquharson online, but most of it was included in WRR, which probably provides the most historical information about this strong-willed heroine. She makes Claire seem subdued as well. Wouldn't it have been interesting to run into Ann in one of the OL books. Perhaps Claire or Bree had heard about Ann through Frank's research or a school project for one of the bairns?

I think to read this book in tandem with DiA gives a more authentic view of the battle and the sheer devastation it caused. It was a bloody, brutal conflict that in reality could only have one outcome and that was the complete subjugation of the clan system - anyone fighting against this system was considered traitorous to the crown and were punished.
The Scots were fighting, not only for their existence and the right to govern themselves ,but also for a way of life and a freedom that would be denied them for several centuries.

A couple of other books that covers this , both quite different but worth reading...

The Lady of Kynachan ~James Irvine Robertson
Amazon

No Great Mischief ~Alistair Macleod
Amazon

I just started it, but I'm exhausted so reading isn't going fast and I just discovered that Exile is ready for me at the library, so I might read that before I continue with WRR. I'll read it soon, I'm sure, but it's just not going as quickly as I might have hoped.