The Scottish Chiefs

Jane Porter

ISBN 10: 068419340X / ISBN 13: 9780684193403

Published by Prentice Hall (a Pearson Education company), 1991

About this Item

Jane Porter (1776-1850) has written an historical novel well suited for older children and adults. Edward 1 King of England had arrived in Scotland at the head of an immense army. He forced the Scottish king and his nobles to recognize him as their king on the field at Dunbar. The story begins. Bright was the summer of 1296. The war which had desolated Scotland was then at an end. Ambition seemed satiated; and the vanquished, after having passed under the yoke of their enemy, concluded they might wear their chains in peace. Such were the hopes of those Scottish noblemen who, early in the preceding spring, had signed the bond of submission to a ruthless conqueror, purchasing life at the price of all that makes life estimable-liberty and honor. William Wallace was a Scottish knight and landowner who is known for leading a resistance during the Wars for Scottish Independence and regarded as a patriot and national hero. Wallace encounters secret passageways, disguises, and a quintet of horrible villains as he fights for Scotland at the turn of the fourteenth century.

Seller Inventory # CIN068419340XG

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Scottish Chiefs
• Publisher: Prentice Hall (a Pearson Education company)
• Publication Date: 1991
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 068419340X
• ISBN 13: 9780684193403
• Binding: Hardback
• Illustrator: N. C. Wyeth
• Condition: Good

About this title

Synopsis

William Wallace encounters secret passageways, disguises, and a quintet of horrible villains as he fights for Scotland at the turn of the fourteenth century.

From the Back Cover

Rooted in political controversy, gender warfare, violence, and revolution, Jane Porter’s The Scottish Chiefs is the epic story of William Wallace’s struggle for Scottish independence from English rule. After the cruel death of his wife at the hands of the English, Wallace embarks on a patriotic crusade to free Scotland, gathering around himself loyal followers of both sexes, drawn from across Scottish society. Using the cross-dressing motifs of romance, Porter demonstrates that women have a crucial role to play in the drama of national identity, either as temptresses or national heroines. The Scottish Chiefs is a landmark in the development of the historical novel, and explores vital questions of patriotism, civic duty, heroism, and the role of women.

This Broadview edition offers a critical introduction and important historical contexts for the novel in the form of reviews, excerpts from Porter’s prefaces, and other contemporary accounts of William Wallace.