Rough Wooing

Book excerpt: The final volume in the trilogy spanning the turbulent reign of King James V of Scotland. The young James, King of Scots is a beleaguered man. Still grief stricken at the untimely death of his queen, Madeleine, the king is without an heir. Both he and his throne are vulnerable. All around him he sees conspiracies. Some may lie in his imagination but all too many are real, for there are many who would supplant him or control him. Even his own mother, Margaret Tudor, plots against him. But then, she is the sister of the English King Henry VIII who sprawls like a bloated spider south of the border, his greedy eyes ever on the realm of Scotland, hungry to bring it within his grasp. The young king's advisors, the two David's, Beaton and Lindsay, have preserved him so far but the threats to James and his country seem to grow by the year... 'Through his imaginative dialogue, he provides a voice for Scotland's heroes' Scotland on Sunday