Some men strive for greatness. And some men find themselves thrust into
the role of their nation's saviors. Such are the two heroes who reshaped
and reconfigured the entire destiny of the kingdom of Scotland. Wallace
the Braveheart would become the only legendary, heroic, commoner in
medieval British history; the undying champion of the common man. The
other, Robert Bruce, earl of Carrick, would perfect the techniques of
guerrilla warfare developed by Wallace and use them to create his own
place in history as the greatest king of Scots.
In the spring of 1297, the two men meet in Ayr, in the south of
Scotland, each having recently lost a young wife, one in childbirth and
the other by murder. Each is heartbroken but determined in his grief to
defy the ambitions of England and its malignant king, Edward
Plantagenet, whose lust to conquer and consume the realm of Scotland is
blatant and unyielding. Their combined anger at the injustices of the
invading English is about to unleash a storm in Scotland that will last
for 16 years - and destroy England's military power for decades - before
giving rise to a new nation of free men.
Jack Whyte is a master of the sweeping historical epic and The
Guardian is the latest in his evocative chronicle of the formation of
his beloved Scotland.
