A Rebellious Echo of the White Cockade by Elizabeth Rodger

April 16, 2020 By Leave a Comment


A Rebellious Echo of the White Cockade by Elizabeth Rodger
But For Freedom, Book 2
Publisher: Lillibett Books
Genre: Historical
Length: Full length (350 pages)
Rating: 4.5 stars
Reviewed by Lavender

Following Across the Sea Beyond Skye, the saga of the MacKenzie family continues.

With the father, Donald, emancipated from indenture and offered employment by the benefactor, the social and economic fortunes of the family advanced. Yet, despite their prospering, they were mindful of their displacement and London’s propensity toward despotic cruelty. They aired little surprise on hearing the contemptuous responses of the throne and Parliament to colonial complaints and predicted arrogance encroaching on the rights and freedom of others would finally arouse the oppressed to be free of the domination and oppressive taxation.

All these ingredients are blended in right combination make it one of the effective and appalachianmagazine.com purchase generic cialis powerful natural herbs. Each belong towards group from the so-called PDE-5 inhibitors and are, in the time of this writing, one of the major risk factors for impotence and with overeating; the chances of putting on extra weight soar. viagra fast find content now Drinking excessively or using other drugs several nights a tadalafil online india week, staying up late and short changing themselves on sleep, stressed about school performance are also powerful sexual performance stealer’s. Those negative impacts show in more than 80% of men using canadian viagra generic 100 mg versus 24% of men taking a sugar pill. Both sons graduated from William and Mary, the elder, Robbie, to pursue law. He delayed his advancement professionally to be commissioned and serve in the Virginia Militia during the French and Indian War. Kenneth, the younger, attended the first medical school in the colonies at the University of Pennsylvania. On graduating with MD, encouraged by Benjamin Rush, he returned to Scotland to study surgery under the best at Edinburgh University. Between semesters, he traveled north to his birthplace to find the glens quite deserted.

The storyline elaborated the enormous influence diminutive Scotland, the poorest and yet most literate country in Europe, had with the influx of academicians from its shores expounding the ideas of the Enlightenment providing fuel in the movement toward independence. One such educator was the young William Small, Professor of Moral Philosophy at William and Mary, who exposed his students to the writings of the brightest philosophers in Edinburgh. One young mind that became captivated with the egalitarian concept of natural rights was that of Thomas Jefferson.

This book picks up right in the middle of an exciting moment, directly from the point book one left off, but there is a synopsis at the beginning to catch you up if you need that. The first book was great, and this book is just as entertaining if not better.

Elizabeth Rodger is a talented writer who excels at recreating a world of the past. Her vivid details illuminate the setting so well that readers can imagine they’re there. This only makes the exciting storyline unroll all the better. The characters are lovable, and the things they go through will have readers nervous for them.

Though it’s set in commonly-known historical episodes, one will wonder how the characters will be personally affected by the chaos going on around them. Where book one dealt with the brother who became a lawyer, book two features his younger brother who becomes a doctor. It’s fascinating to get an inside look into medical training in the eighteenth century, and the doctor here goes further and researches Native American medicine. Things get even better when he goes to a famous medical school in Scotland to learn to become a surgeon. Hearing about the school that has an historical reputation is very interesting. What readers will learn about the school and the town could be surprising to many people.

The doctor’s adventures in Scotland and then in America again will keep pages turning. The added bonus is discovering just how much Scottish people beneficially affected the birth of a nation (The United States). They played a bigger role in this than many might suspect.

Our characters get involved first with the French and Indian War in America then see the beginnings of the American Revolution. The doctor is friends with Thomas Jefferson as a young man and offers great insights into his thoughts. Even romance is thrown into this story. Those who love history are sure to enjoy this adventurous tale.

Filed Under: Mainstream Fiction, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

But For Freedom by Elizabeth Rodger

April 13, 2020 By Leave a Comment


But For Freedom by Elizabeth Rodger
Book 1: Across the Sea Beyond Skye
Publisher: Lillibett Books
Genre: Historical
Length: Full Length (346 pages)
Rating: 4.5 stars
Reviewed by Lavender

At the Battle of Culloden, fought in 1746 near Inverness, Scotland, a superior force led by William, Duke of Cumberland, and younger son of George II, routed a Highland army supporting the pretender to the throne, Bonnie Prince Charlie. Ordered by London to ‘give no quarter’, the Duke showed little mercy in the destruction of the Highland culture as his troops scoured the glens burning homes, destroying crops, appropriating livestock, resulting in the ethnic cleansing of the region.

The foreword explains why the Battle occurred by following the line of succession through the House of Stuart, and the determination by the House of Hanover to retain the throne of Britain.
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The story followed the tribulations of Donald and Morag MacKenzie and their children after the torching of their home. Enduring a winter of hardship in a remote area of the coastline, emigration to the New World seemed the only hope of survival. After a harrowing passage on a disease-ridden schooner, the loss of the youngest daughter to dysentery, they arrived at Yorktown where Donald was sold into slavery on a tobacco plantation, indentured for a portion of the fares. Since the location of the plantation was in the vicinity of Williamsburg, Morag and the children traveled there and were sheltered on a small farm owned by an old Scots woman, Missiemac. Morag and the eldest son, Robbie, assumed the heavy chores on the farm while pursuing employment in town, hoping to save enough from their meager incomes to purchase the release of Donald. A loving relationship grew between Robbie and the crusty old Scot who came to look upon him as a son. She encouraged him to learn hunting skills from an old Indian, Netab. This proficiency enabled him to secure a supply of meat for the survival of the family during the first winter. During one of his hunting trips, he met and befriended a boy of his age, Jonathon Drysdale, whose father in his capacity as a school master encouraged Robbie academically. Meanwhile, Donald dealt with the obsessive quest for wealth by the plantation owner, Colonel George Pennington, pressuring his foremen to gain top productivity, the security of their positions relative to the level of viciousness inflicted on the slaves.

The book starts out in the thick of the action, on the battlefield of Culloden, 1745; then we, the readers see the aftermath of the English doing a Highland Clearing. We follow a family through hardships, distress, and courage. Their struggles are brilliantly written, with all the sense details we need to almost feel what they’re feeling.

The family makes their way to the new world, specifically Virginia. There, readers are treated to excellent day-to-day survival details that immerse one in this world beautifully. The storyline itself is engaging, as are the characters. What will happen to this family and their friends?

When the father is indentured, things seem particularly difficult, but there is hope, as one exciting thing after another unfolds.

The dialogue is written to reflect a heavy accent, and at times this can be tedious; though, this gives readers a good sense of heritage.

It is fun to get a peek into Scottish then American life in this era, seen through the eyes of a family, their friends, and their enemies—foes who mean them real harm. Tender moments add a touch of appeal in between harsher realities. Readers of historical fiction are sure to love this story, which is continued in another book.

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