A BOOK published to mark the 300th anniversary tomorrow of the birth of Prince Charles Edward Stuart calls for a reappraisal of his character and career.
Reminiscences of a Jacobite by Michael Nevin, chairman of The 1745 Association, draws on Bonnie Prince Charlie’s previously unpublished words, as well as a number of other first-hand accounts.
Nevin said: “Outlander shows the prince as a small man with a high-pitched voice, representing him as a religious fanatic who recklessly launched a campaign which had no chance of success.
“In fact, he stood at 5′ 10” – tall by the standards of the day – and was a powerful orator, as shown by the call to arms to his men on the eve of the battle of Prestonpans.
“He was a highly intelligent individual who advocated religious tolerance and had a clear and credible strategy to regain the throne, which might well have succeeded had the Jacobite leadership followed his plea to continue the advance onto London from Derby.”
Nevin’s book is published by Birlinn.
Read more stories on Scottish Field’s book pages.
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