BOOK REVIEW -
NIGEL TRANTER - MONTROSE: THE YOUNG MONTROSE 1972 Coronet/Hodder And Stoughton/ MONTROSE: THE CAPTAIN GENERAL 1973 Coronet/Hodder And
Stoughton
Tranter's novels
are well written, often trying to be as historically accurate as possible, and
the author is at his best in his discussions of political meetings, and battle
sequences of which there are understandably many. Though his overt reverence
for James Graham, 5th Earl and 1st Marquis of Montrose
tends to give the hero too saintly a status, and other characters are often
underplayed. Some are presented simply as outright villains. The Irish, after
Montrose's initial realisation that Alastair MacColla is a giant of a man,
simply come across as being there, and are relegated to minor background
extras. Manus O'Cahan is simply mentioned as being in charge of a regimental
flank of Foote, which reduces him to a name used to describe the men on the
left of field and nothing more. There are a few gaffes. At one point, Lord
Hamilton storms out of a Covenanters meeting that goes badly for him, but is
seen continuing to air his angry point of view there within a paragraph of
this. Characters who are described as meeting some fate in later chapters are
described as having been really influential in events earlier related, but in
which their apparent influence on Montrose was not described when he actually
covered those events directly. This is particularly apparent when Tranter
describes the murder of Lord Kilpont. He isn't even listed in the cast of
important characters that prefaces the book. Tranter cannot resist silly
supernaturalism either, especially in Montrose's feverish vision of the dead
King during his period of illness just before the Aberdeen battle. There are
obvious fictional conceits such as Montrose getting frequent meetings with his
wife, Magdalen on battlefields, in which he struggles to come to terms with his
lack of attention to his family. He has barely met with the Irish Gallowglasses
(Mercenary soldiers) when he leaves their celebration party to travel over a
hundred miles to meet with her, and then makes it back before anyone notices
his absence. They did meet on occasion, but not as often or in so many
contrived and convenient ways as Tranter would like us to believe. These
meetings add only melodrama and soap to an otherwise fine but rather too dryly
written narration. There are two novels, which are actually one book in two
parts. The first book takes us through to Montrose's more successful Campaigns,
while the second deals with his downfall, through Philipaugh to his doomed
campaigns for Charles The Second and his eventual capture, incarceration and
execution. A useful novel to read in
conjunction with text books on the life and times of the same people, and a
precursor to the work of later better historic novelists like MacDonald Fraser
and Bernard Cornwell. Tranter will appeal to fans of the latter’s Sharpe
novels.
© Copyright. Arthur Chappell
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