Vividly imagined biography of Simon Fraser, the 11th Lord Lovat, leader of Clan Fraser, and the last British aristocrat to be beheaded in 1747. The House of Lords condemned him as guilty of high treason as a Jacobite rebel; in his own words, he died ‘a martyr for my country’. Lovat’s life was long – over 80 when executed – and full of intrigue and incident.
He was double-agent, spy, polyglot, philosopher and, ultimately, commander of Bonnie Prince Charlie’s forces at Culloden. He was also, as Sarah Fraser is not shy of depicting, accused of rape and forced marriage for the sake of his (and her) family line.
The book begins and ends with a hair-raising evocation of Lovat’s last day, as he is transported from his cell to the block. Fraser’s narration has the power of the best historical novel, using the fabric of history to remarkable effect