J.A. McDaniel

A Splendid Biography!

Revisado: 04-13-23

This is a splendid biography, meticulously researched and beautifully written. And what a story! Even those who have some familiarity with Flora Macdonald will thrill to hear the old story told anew, will learn new and fascinating details, and will find even more to admire about this woman of courage and sensibility. Among the challenges faced by the author were untangling fact from fiction as well as parsing through complex family relationships in the 18th century Hebridean culture (where seemingly half the characters share the same surname!). The author succeeds very well at both and thoughtfully included excellent maps, family trees and a Glossary of places and names. Readers will want these close at hand, especially early on in the book, since it is almost impossible to follow the story without them. With them, however, the tale unfolds clearly and dramatically. After Flora’s celebrated adventures in the Hebrides and the harrowing aftermath, the author follows the Macdonald family to North Carolina, explaining why this family and a number of other Highland and Island emigrants supported the Crown rather than join in yet another rebellion (their earlier one hadn’t worked out especially well). While many Scots thrived in North Carolina, for others like Flora the experience was a disaster. Outlander fans will find this book of particular interest, as it not only provides the real back story to one of the characters from Season 6 but also explains the theme song of that series – the Skye Boat Song – which was originally written to commemorate Flora’s 1746 voyage to help Bonnie Prince Charlie escape. Finally, the book recounts how Flora’s story, and especially her character, touched a chord not only in her own time but has resonated through succeeding generations to this day.

This review relates to the audio version of the book, read by award-winning narrator Cathleen McCarron, who does a masterful job. She has a crystal-clear voice with an enchanting Scottish accent -- completely intelligible to an American -- and she reads with feeling and enthusiasm, conveying the sense that she really wants to tell you this story. Audio listeners should print out the PDF and pore over the maps while listening to the story, preferably on a dark and stormy night with a wee dram from the Isles. Speed, bonnie boat, like a bird on the wing …

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