Why a Booktrail?
1848: inspired by a true story
The False Men
Why a Booktrail?
1848: inspired by a true story
What you need to know before your trail
North Uist, Outer Hebrides, 1848 Jess MacKay has led a privileged life as the daughter of a local landowner, sheltered from the harsher aspects of life. Courted by the eligible Patrick Cooper, the Laird’s new commissioner, Jess’s future is mapped out, until Lachlan Macdonald arrives on North Uist, amid rumours of forced evictions on islands just to the south. As the uncompromising brutality of the Clearances reaches the islands, and Jess sees her friends ripped from their homes, she must decide where her heart, and her loyalties, truly lie.
Locations
Reset- Scotland - Outer Hebrides - North Uist
- A: Lochmaddy
- B: Balranald
- C: Balranald campsite
Travel Guide
North Uist
Set against the evocative backdrop of the Hebrides and inspired by the true story of Jessie Balranald, also known as Jessie MacDonald, this is a fictionalised account of the brutal and traumatic clearances of Hebridean crofters from the Isle of North Uist.
The author says on her historical note that the major character from the novel are based on her literary interpretations of the corresponding historical figures some of whose names she has changed.
The descriptions of the elopment and Clearances are drawn from their portrayal in newspaper, court records and oral history. All of the newspaper articles have been drawn from original sourses. Some dates of events have been changed such as the timing of the Barra eviction and the date when the ship Hercules set sail.
Booktrail Boarding Pass: The False Men
Destination : North Uist Author/Guide: Mhairead MacLeod Departure Time: 1848
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