Scotland Biography

"Did I not tell you this would happen? I knew they would never allow me to live, I was too great an obstacle to their religion." - Mary, Queen of Scots The position in history of Mary Queen of Scots is a paradoxical one. Her fame as a monarch lies less in her personality or achievements than in her position within the dynastic maneuvers and political-religious upheavals taking place in northwest Europe in the 16th century. Most monarchs spend their early years learning in preparation to rule and then spend the latter part of their lives wielding power and status.

More than 400 years after her death, Mary Queen of Scots remains one of the most romantic and controversial figures in British history. Antonia Fraser's classic biography of her won the James Tait Prize when it was first published in 1969. It became an international best-seller and was translated into nine languages.

Before David Wilson became the UK's pre-eminent criminologist, he was just a young boy growing up in the Scottish town of Carluke. As a child, the brutal murder of a young woman rocked this small community, but very quickly a man was arrested for the crime, convicted and put behind bars. For most, life slowly carried on - case closed.

Ackroyd portrays London from the time of the druids to the beginning of the twenty-first century, noting magnificence in both epochs, but this is not a simple chronological record. It is a comprehensive account, animated by Ackroyd's concern for the close relationship between the present and the past as well as by what he describes as the peculiar "echoic" quality of London whereby its texture and history actively affect the lives and personalities of its citizens.

His humble beginnings are found in Alloa and 18th-century Scotland, where a highwayman would be better off robbing himself. Bonnie Prince Charlie's Jacobite rebellion is just around the corner, and so too is the Industrial Revolution. Volcanos, gin wars, and large-scale bankruptcies also play their part in the fortunes of a canny man. But John Jameson's marriage to Peggie Haig, an Alloa tobacconist's daughter, holds the key to his success.

Discover the fascinating lives of the iconic figures that have shaped Scotland from the early 19th century to the present day. Explore the rich history of Scotland's cultural, social and political landscape, with more than 100 obituaries carefully curated from The Times archive.

In Wild Winter, John D. Burns, best-selling author of The Last Hillwalker and Bothy Tales, sets out to rediscover Scotland’s mountains, remote places and wildlife in the darkest and stormiest months. He traverses the country from the mouth of the River Ness to the Isle of Mull, from remote Sutherland to the Cairngorms, in search of rutting red deer, pupping seals, minke whales, beavers, pine martens, mountain hares, and otters.

From their very beginnings, England and Scotland fought each other. Emerging as unified nations from the early medieval period, their shared border and related aristocracy created endless causes of conflict. Every century from the 11th to the 16th was colored by such violence, and there were periods when not a decade went by without some act of violence marring the peace. Out of all of this, the most bitterly remembered conflict is Edward I's invasion during the late 13th century.

Ackroyd portrays London from the time of the druids to the beginning of the twenty-first century, noting magnificence in both epochs, but this is not a simple chronological record. It is a comprehensive account, animated by Ackroyd's concern for the close relationship between the present and the past as well as by what he describes as the peculiar "echoic" quality of London whereby its texture and history actively affect the lives and personalities of its citizens.

Don Paterson was born in Dundee, Scotland, in 1963 and spent his boyhood living on a working-class council housing estate. Toy Fights is the remarkable story of his first twenty years. This is not just a book about music and family, but also about 'schizophrenia, hell, money, narcissists, debt and the working class, anger, swearing, drugs, books, football, love, origami, the peculiar insanity of Dundee, sugar, religious mania, the sexual excesses of the Scottish club band scene and, more generally, the lengths we go to not to be bored.

Ackroyd portrays London from the time of the druids to the beginning of the twenty-first century, noting magnificence in both epochs, but this is not a simple chronological record. It is a comprehensive account, animated by Ackroyd's concern for the close relationship between the present and the past as well as by what he describes as the peculiar "echoic" quality of London whereby its texture and history actively affect the lives and personalities of its citizens.

This work offers a cross section of murder cases ranging from the quest for Scotland’s independence in the 14th century right up to the late 1970’s and a serial killer who perpetrated five murders in less than a year. Each set of circumstances is challenging and evokes the history of the nation with cases which involve royalty, the heart-breaking loss of an entire family and the role of culpable homicide in the Scottish legal system in the early 20th century.

There is a common misconception that if a body can’t be found, then no one can be brought to trial for murder. That isn’t true, as one Scottish man discovered. Twice!

A biography of Mary, Queen of Scots (1542-1587). She was also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland and reigned over Scotland from December 14, 1542 to July 24, 1567. The author seeks to present an unbiased view of the tragic queen.

More nations have vanished from this Earth than exist today. It is hard to imagine that Scotland or India will one day not exist, yet history is the graveyard of nations. This is the story of one such country, because like a once mighty ship who has sunk into the ocean of history, its wreckage and remains are meager. It is the story of a Kingdom called Alt Clut that existed for 600, perhaps 700 years, and is now almost unheard of. The story of Alt Clut only survives in archaeological finds, linguistic whispers, the chronicles of its neighbors and enemies, poetry, and legends.

All his life, "Johnnyboy" Steele has been running. First from an abusive father, then from the rigors of an approved school and a young offenders jail, and finally, from the harshness of adult prison. This book details how the Steele brothers staged the most daring breakout that Glasgow's Barlinnie Prison had ever seen and recounts what happened when their younger brother, Joseph, was falsely accused of the greatest mass murder in Scottish legal history.

In the late 1960s, MacInnes led the Glencoe Mountain Rescue team and together they developed innovative techniques and equipment in order to save lives - often risking their own in the process - whether night or day, and always at a moment’s notice. He was a central figure in the rescue during the 1963 New Year tragedy in the Cuillins on the Isle of Skye, and led groundbreaking rescues on Buichaille Etive Mor, Ben Nevis, Bidean nam Bian and many other legendary Scottish mountains.

DI Steven Keogh spent over half of his 30-year police career as a Scotland Yard detective, helping to hunt down terrorists and some of the worst murderers in London. Step inside the mind of an investigator in a never-before-seen look into what it takes to catch killers and bring them to justice. In a journey from crime scene to trial, you will witness the emotional highs and lows of cracking real-life murder cases and discover why people kill, while debunking the myths that surround this detective work.

La reina María Estuardo fue una de las más amadas y controversiales mujeres en la historia de Escocia. Nieta del rey James IV y su esposa Margaret Tudor, con un estatus de heredera aparente al trono inglés junto con la violencia de la Reforma Protestante Escocesa dio lugar a una de las vidas más dramáticas y poco entendidas del siglo XVI.

The county of East Lothian, previously known as Haddingtonshire, is an often-overlooked gem nestled in Scotland's central lowlands. Its boundaries include the Scottish Borders to the south, Edinburgh to the west, and Midlothian to the south-west. The central administrative hub is the Royal Burgh of Haddington, which can trace its heritage back 900 years.