Rebellion was recurrent in the Highlands because the Gaels (Scoti) were an often-oppressed indigenous minority in the nation, Scotland, to which they gave their name. They spoke a language, Gaelic, few outsiders would learn, and had their own family and social system, the clans. Warfare was bloody, culminating in the catastrophe of Culloden Moor during the doomed quest to restore the Stuart kingship to all of Britain. Economic hardship, including the near-genocidal Clearances, in which tenant farmers were replaced with sheep, drove the Gaels from the glens and islands, so that most today live in the diaspora, including millions in North America. Although the Gaels lack a single genetic identity, they clearly draw from distinct roots in the Irish, Norse and Picts. Despite their hardship, the Gaels are also presented in romantic portrayals by the artistic elite of other nations. This book offers ways in which the reader might find roots and ancestry in unfamiliar terrain. Chapters discuss the landscape and language of the Highlanders, the rise of clans, feuds and invasions, and eventual emigration.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1883.

This ebook boxed set of bestselling Highlanders, Howlers, and Heros features novels by Janet Chapman, Melissa Mayhue, and Nancy Gideon.

This work follows the experiences of a young Scottish Highlander, Ronald Stuart, who enters the 92nd regiment of foot, the Gordon Highlanders as an ensign. He joins the division in Spain soon after and stays with Gordons for the rest of the Napoleonic Wars. The plot contains several amusing adventures of Stuart that include rescuing half of the noble ladies of Spain, dealing with problematic prisoners of the war, and trying to escape from his rival. Although the story is based on the Peninsular war, it is much more than a retelling of it from Stuart's perspective. Following a sentimental tone, Grant writes with energy, passion, and authority about his native country and its inhabitants. Grant's portrayal of Spain and Spaniards makes it more attractive as he presents such a balanced account of the Spanish people in the Peninsular War that not many British authors could during that time.