The Thistle And The Silver Fern

 

This book is a combination of family pride, delight in Highland history and folklore, and years of dedicated research.  It is a notable addition to the ever popular history and literature devoted to the emigration and settlement of thousands of Highlanders, whose courage and virtues have enriched so many lands, far “From the lone Shieling and distant island.”

This is  a tale about a family from Altandhu, carving more of “a reality” than “a myth,” to show us who they are.  It leads us from the MacLeods of the Lewes and Assynt to their clansmen and women of Coigach and Altandhu.  We read of the reprisals of a frightened government, persecuting “the loyal men” who had fought for Prince Charlie.  The breakup of the old Clan System and the emigration of the gentlemen Tacksmen were the results.  But much worse was to follow.  The author writes, “If your name is MacLeod, there is nothing glamorous about claiming descent from the families who lived in Coigach.  The hereditary occupants of these lands are the unrecorded spawn of the poor cousins in a family whose history has been fraught by ill-fated stars.”  Never mind the glamour!  His tale as it unfolds not only grips the imagination, but also explains with incisive clarity the history, the problems and the eventual solution of the people in the remote corner of North West Scotland in the 19th century.

The light floods back into the story when the author’s great grandparents, Rory McLeod and Mary (née McKenzie) preceded by Rory’s brother, Sandy, sail in the ‘Wild Deer’ in 1872 and settle in Central Otago, New Zealand.  The conditions of their voyage and of life in an emigrant ship in general are brilliantly described, and when one follows the couple to Otago.

The book is available on Amazon