Thursday, June 19, 2014

Aloha to Lecia Cornwall and ONCE UPON A HIGHLAND AUTUMN


A TALE OF TWO STORIES (AND TWO BATTLES)
by Lecia Cornwall

I love Scottish history. My husband was born in Paisley, near Glasgow, and my children (now adults) are passionate about their heritage. My son wears his Kennedy tartan kilt proudly, and family legend says that deep, deep, deep in the past, Robert the Bruce may have been a distant ancestor. Fun to think that might be true!

My own roots are English and Ukrainian, but Scots or not, the Highlands have always been a place of magic, mystery and romance for me. The landscape, the clan system, the traditions, the battles, the language, the music, the legends, and even the whisky (especially the whisky) … all add up to a fascinating culture filled with wonderful stories for a writer to build upon, and for a reader to fall in love with.

Kim, my gracious host at SOS Aloha, asked me to write a blog post about the anniversary of the Scottish Battle of Bannockburn, which took place 700 years ago, on June 24 1314. But there’s another battle in ONCE UPON A HIGHLAND AUTUMN.

In fact, ONCE UPON A HIGHLAND AUTUMN is a tale within a tale. It’s the story of Mairi’s curse, born of the tragedies that followed the Battle of Culloden. And it’s the story of Kit and Megan, who must find a way to end that curse some seventy years later. But let’s start with the battles.

Uh oh—I can sense your eyes glazing over, and you’re dreading the idea that a romance writer is about to tell you about two Scottish battles. Come with me, dear reader, and I’ll tell you why these battles have captured my imagination, and are worth hearing about. One was a beginning, a victory, the other a sad ending, and a great loss—like the stories in ONCE UPON A HIGHLAND AUTUMN.

I must tell you that I am not a historian—I’m a storyteller. I see stories within the facts, and the opportunity to create fictional characters against the backdrop of historical events. I read and research voraciously, and I love that part of the process almost as much as I love writing stories. I do my very best to ensure the facts included in my books are accurate, but the story and the characters are made up.

When I think about the battles of Bannockburn and Culloden, in my mind one battle marked the start of an independent Scotland, and the other marked the end of the same (if you are a professional Scottish historian, I’m sure you’ll write to me if I’m wrong in this opinion).

Now for my 30-second history lesson:

The Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 was a great victory for the Scots, and a turning point in the Scottish Wars of Independence that led to Scottish sovereignty. The Scots defeated an English force nearly twice the size of their own, and won English respect at last, though full independence took another ten years to achieve.

The Battle of Culloden took place on April 16, 1746. Did you know it was the very last land battle fought on British soil? The aftermath was so brutal, so shameful, that to this day the English regiments who fought there do not include Culloden among the battle honors listed on their regimental colors. The battle ended the Jacobite rebellions, which began when the Stuart Kings of England and Scotland were deposed and replaced. Bonnie Prince Charlie Stuart came to Scotland, his ancestral homeland, to raise an army on behalf of his father, in hopes of reclaiming the throne. It was a romantic adventure, complete with a handsome prince, an army of heroic Scots, and a stirring patriotic cause. They almost won.

At Culloden Moor, in less than an hour, the government forces smashed the Jacobites. Prince Charlie rode away, took ship for France, and never returned. For the Highland clans, it was the beginning of the end of their way of life. After the battle, government troops enforced the Pacification of the Highlands, destroying the rebellious clans by wholesale killing, burning, and looting. Highlanders were murdered, arrested, transported, executed, or left to rot in prison. Under new laws, passed in London, wearing of the plaid was forbidden, as was the speaking of Gaelic, and the playing of bagpipes.

There now, the history lesson is over. For the very keen among you, there’s a list of some of my favorite historical resources below.

I visited Culloden in 2009, and I have never been to a sadder, more somber place. There’s a legend that says birds will not sing as they fly over the battlefield, and although I can’t remember whether I saw birds there, I do remember the incredible silence.

In ONCE UPON A HIGHLAND AUTUMN, I created Connor MacIntosh, a Highland laird in 1746 who is determined to remain neutral and keep his clan out of the fighting. Connor meets an English army officer a few weeks before Culloden when his wife’s young brother invades the English camp on a dare. When the lad slips away to Culloden Moor to watch the battle, Connor goes to rescue him. The English officer saves the lad, but Connor disappears, leaving his young wife to wait and wonder. Alone and afraid, Mairi MacIntosh lays a curse upon the ones who have taken her husband, driven her family into the hills, and burned her home: Glen Dorian shall suffer no one to live within its walls again until true love—the only force strong enough to withstand such adversity—returns there.

The second story—the romance—begins seventy years later, when Kit Rossington discovers a letter in an old trunk in England that draws him to Scotland to solve Mairi’s mystery. In Scotland, he meets Megan McNabb, a lass bent on finding the ending to Mairi’s story for an entirely different reason. But the curse is strong, and the pretense of a handfasting of convenience will not satisfy Glen Dorian’s restless spirits. Love, and only love, will do the trick.

I must admit I love this story—it’s one of my favorites, out of the nine books I’ve written to date. I hope you enjoy it as well—and if you’re a Scottish historian, forgive me for taking liberties. I do so with the greatest love and respect for Scottish culture.

I love hearing from readers! Please leave a comment below for a chance to win a copy of the previous book in the series, ONCE UPON A HIGHLAND SUMMER, or drop me a line at leciacornwall@shaw.ca.

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A few of my favorite Scottish history resources:

Culloden, book by John Prebble

A History of Scotland by Neil Oliver (book or BBC DVD)

Battlefield Britain (The Battle of Culloden) BBC TV, with Peter and Dan Snow

White Rose Rebel a novel by Janet Paisley, about the real-life Jacobite heroine Colonel Anne MacIntosh



Mahalo, Lecia, for sharing Scottish history with us.  I am verry fond of Alba.   To enter Lecia's giveaway,

1.  Leave a comment about Scotland - what intrigues you about Alba?

2.  Comments are open through Saturday, June 21, 10 pm in Baltimore.  

3.  I'll post the winner on Saturday, June 22.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore
Aloha Spirit in Charm City



24 comments:

  1. I have Scottish blood on my mother's side & proud of it. The history is certainly bloody, but fascinating.

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  2. I too visited Culloden Moor and was quite impressed with the feeling it gives. I shall never forget it.

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  3. I would like to see their castles someday.

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  4. I also wish to visit Scotland and the castles one day. I can only dream.

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  5. I loved my visit to Scotland in the 1980's and would love to go back again

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  6. Thank you for such an interesting post. I've been to Culloden too, and found it very haunting. It was hard to imagine that such a terrible massacre had taken place there.

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  7. We visited Scotland in 2009 to show our kids the place their father's homeland. We visited Glasgow, where he was born, and Culzean Castle, the ancestral home of Clan Kennedy, and travelled to Edinburgh, and Sterling (site of another famous battle) and drove through the Highlands. Such a wonderful, mysterious, beautiful country. How could a writer not want to write about that magical feeling it has?

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  8. I love the historical romance novels of the Highlands and the brave men and woman who lived there. I am in awe of a people who so fiercely loved their homeland and culture. Their history is rich and one to be very proud of.

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  9. I'd love to have the chance to visit Scotland! The beauty of the country and the people.

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  10. It's an incredible culture, isn't it? My mother-in-law (a Kennedy) was the fiercest, most terrifying businesswoman I ever met. Yet she was the kindest, most generous, sentimental mother and grandmother in the world. I can imagine Scottish warriors like that—terrors on the battlefield, loving husbands and fathers at home.

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  11. I would love to visit Scotland :) It's on the bucket list! Congrats to Lecia on the new release!

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  12. Thanks Erin—there are so many places to see. If I eve make it back to Scotland, I'd love to go to Glencoe, and to the Islands. What are your Scottish must-sees?

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  13. It just calls to me for some reason - I keep thinking I was Scottish in another life.

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    1. Oh, I agree, catslady—there's just something about the way Scotland and Scottish history call to us, isn't it? Easy to feel we've been there, left a piece of ourselves in the past.

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  14. I have never been to Scotland, but hope to go one day. I became interested in it and Scottish history after seeing the movie BRAVEHEART. It is a crime that England so hated Scotland that they imposed their terrible will on the Scottish, trying to banish eveyrthing in the Scottish culture and lives. I love to read Scottish romances. They describe the beauty of the country and the friendliness of the people.

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  15. Neighbours always seem to disagree, don't they? And wars between neighbours always seem to be the cruellest and most brutal.

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  16. I loved your post Lecia. Culloden has to be the saddest event or massacre, however you like at it I have ever read about. My dream is to visit Scotland one day. It's such a beautiful country and a very emotional one too. I can't read enough Highland books. I love your story within a story. I have it on my TRL. Thank you for the opportunity.
    Carol L
    Lucky4750 (at) aol (dot) com

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  17. sounds like an interesting place

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    1. All that scenery, and the history, and the warmth of the people—Scotland is amazing!

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  18. Originally, I was intrigued by the language of Sir Walter Scott and the sound of bagpipes (I was in early elementary school at the time). Later on, I fell in love with the scenery and the accent.

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  19. I've always been fascinated by Scotland and hope to visit there one day. I also love to read highland romance, especially medieval.

    Marcy Shuler

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  20. I'd love to visit the Scottish Highlands one day. And explore all the different castles along the way. From pictures I've seen, the Scotland landscape is absolutely gorgeous, including the men in kilts! ;-)

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  21. I have a special connection to Scotland, when I visit there for the first time it was like coming home, I had the feeling I had been there before and many things (landscape etc.) were familiar

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