Flora MacDonald: The Most Loyal Rebel by Hugh Douglas
Publisher's Synopsis
On 28 June 1746 Flora MacDonald, with her 'maid' Betty Burke sailed over the sea to Skye. The 'maid' was Prince Charles Edward Stuart, a desperate fugitive from the forces of King George who were hunting him in the Hebrides following his flight after the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Culloden. Although reluctant at first to help him, Flora nevertheless ensured the Prince's escape. 'Her name will be mentioned in History' wrote Dr Johnson in 1773, and two centuries later it is for this one act that Flora MacDonald is remembered. Yet Flora's legendary part in Prince Charles Edward Stuart's attempt to win back the British crown is just one facet of this remarkable woman. She was not a simple Highland girl for whom this was her sole moment of courage and triumph, but unusually independent, intelligent and resourceful. Having suffered for helping the Jacobite prince in the Highlands, she travelled to London to order her finances, and when she and her husband decided to emigrate to America, it was she who made the arrangements for their children. In North Carolina she found herself caught up in the American War of Independence, facing hardship and turmoil again. Based on new research in Scotland, North Carolina and Nova Scotia, as well as other sources, Hugh Douglas has built up a lively portrait of this engaging woman which sets Flora within the context of the cataclysmic events which engulfed her and the Highlanders in 1746 and America in the 1770s. In particular he has recovered those 'lost' years in America, building up from contemporary accounts and an examination of what has been written about other members of Flora's family, a meticulous and vivid portrait of her during those terrible years. A final chapter examines the legacy of the Flora MacDonald legend today and her current place within her clan and the people of Scotland and America. |
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