As they neared the Mercat Cross, Jamie saw the red-coated soldiers, the horse-drawn cart with two prisoners, and townspeople gathering, their breath smoking in the frigid air. Filled with dread of what was about to happen, Jamie dismounted near the crowd and tied his horse to a post. Archie slid down, dropped his reins, and plucked at Jamie's sleeve. "Stay, lad. It is too late. Ye can only do yerself harm in tryin' tae interfere with this proceeding." Jamie pulled away. "But, I must save my mama " he sobbed. "The soldiers will put yer back tae the lash, as weel as hers." He seized Jamie in a tight grip and held him close. "They canna do this " came out in a hoarse whisper. "Aye, they can and they will," growled Archie. The Highlands of Scotland in 1744 roil with intrigue and hopes for a rising against the hated Hanoverian monarchy in London. As in the past, the clans look to the powerful Drummond family of Strathallan for leadership. Is the time right to support the impetuous Bonnie Prince Charlie, who promises to restore the House of Stewart to the throne? Political machinations mean little to six-year-old Jamie Drummond, eventual heir of Strathallan. Steeped in the traditions and legends of the glorious past of his people, he experiences the coming of war to his Highland home as an adventure. The reality and suffering of war and its aftermath become all too real to young Jamie, as he and his mother flee the advancing enemy to find refuge with her family in the mountainous north. But war, death, and intrigue soon follow the Drummonds.

George Croft (1777-1853), son of John George Croft and Elizabeth Love Leger, married Mary Morris in 1811. He moved to Bluffton-Lannet, Alabama about 1835. Their twelve children were born in Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina. Descendants also lived in Florida, Illinois and Texas.

This book is based on a major conference with Historic England, Natural England, the Ancient Tree Forum and others which took place in 2016 as part of the celebrations for the tercentenary of Lancelot 'Capability' Brown. The event brought together ecologists, landscape historians and archaeologists, land managers and conservationists to look critically at the impact of Brown and his successors on the UK's landscape. The book addresses the paradigms of these designed landscapes. It considers the issues around the legacy of Brown's creations and ideas and the repercussions that are still apparent today. It makes for a thought-provoking and rich discussion covering habitat conservation and creation, drainage and the release of alien species. This is the untold story of the ecology of Capability Brown and the landscape school which followed.

In Matters of Fact in Jane Austen: History, Location, and Celebrity, Janine Barchas makes the bold assertion that Jane Austen’s novels allude to actual high-profile politicians and contemporary celebrities as well as to famous historical figures and landed estates. Barchas is the first scholar to conduct extensive research into the names and locations in Austen’s fiction by taking full advantage of the explosion of archival materials now available online. According to Barchas, Austen plays confidently with the tension between truth and invention that characterizes the realist novel. Of course, the argument that Austen deployed famous names presupposes an active celebrity culture during the Regency, a phenomenon recently accepted by scholars. The names Austen plucks from history for her protagonists (Dashwood, Wentworth, Woodhouse, Tilney, Fitzwilliam, and many more) were immensely famous in her day. She seems to bank upon this familiarity for interpretive effect, often upending associations with comic intent. Barchas re-situates Austen’s work closer to the historical novels of her contemporary Sir Walter Scott and away from the domestic and biographical perspectives that until recently have dominated Austen studies. This forward-thinking and revealing investigation offers scholars and ardent fans of Jane Austen a wealth of historical facts, while shedding an interpretive light on a new aspect of the beloved writer's work. -- Joseph Roach, Sterling Professor of Theater and English, Yale University, and author of It

WITH A MYSTERY MOUNTING, A MEDIEVAL FANTASY WAS FAST BECOMING ALL TOO REAL FOR AN UNLIKELY PAIR Leo McKenzie was an American investigator tracking a hard-to-find woman through the English countryside. But trailing antiques agent Jennifer Rowan through an impassable blizzard only amounted to a concussion and a developing cold crush. After finding haven for the detective in a centuries-old monastery, Jenny sought a silent monk who had the answer to recovering the priceless Warley Madonna. But when someone else got him to spill his guts first—literally—everyone stranded in the castle became a suspect. The two reckless Americans made an imperfect match—and with eyes the color of whiskey, the headstrong P.I. was dangerously close to intoxicating Jennifer. But with only each other to trust, the two strangers in an even stranger land would have to stop a killer who stalked the frozen hallways if they hoped to weather the storm.