Morag Edwards

The Jacobite cause was a complex one that tore families apart. Today it is seen a little romantically, probably to do with the Outlander series of books. But the author of this novel has shown the destructive effect that siding with the 'wrong' monarch could have - apart from parents being put in the tower and families losing their worldy goods, family member turned on family member. It is based on a true story of a wife who tried to protect her husband from his own romantic notions of King and country. She paid a bitter price as he never forgave her.… (plus d'informations)

“Lady Winifred has had a troubled childhood. Her mother, father and brother were all imprisoned for treason due to their support for the Catholic king. When she falls in love with a handsome young Scottish nobleman, the marriage brings happiness. However, she is forced to rebel when her husband takes up the Jacobite cause and vows to restore the Catholic king to the throne. While Winifred wants to be loyal to her husband, she also wants to protect him from imprisonment – and worse, the scaffold!”

This synopsis introduces the reader to a novel which is based on the true story of Winifred, Countess of Nithsdale, the wife of William Maxwell, 5th Earl of Nithsdale, a man who took part in the Jacobite rising of 1715, was captured at the Battle of Preston and whose daring escape from imprisonment in the Tower of London, on the eve of his planned execution is a well-known historical fact. However, rather than telling the story from his perspective, Morag Edwards found Winifred a more interesting and intriguing character and, in this fictionalised account of her main character’s life, she explores why, in middle-age, this woman risked everything – her home, her children, even her own life – to rescue her husband.
The story starts in 1688, when Winifred is reported to be sixteen years old, and watches, in the middle of the night, as her mother and an older sister, depart in a carriage. The following morning she feels distraught when she is told that they have been summoned to accompany the Queen who, with the new baby prince, needed to flee to France because of the King’s fears for the safety of his family. Winifred had spent so much of her younger childhood feeling abandoned as a consequence of her family’s beliefs – at the age of eight she had had to cope with the trauma of visiting her mother in the Tower of London, where she had been imprisoned, accused of treason – so their departure without her feels like yet another rejection.
As with all Catholic families at that time, the fear of being accused of treason and of being persecuted for what they believed, were constant sources of anxiety and this story captured some of the terrors people must have felt, as well as the bravery of those who were prepared to make sacrifices in their fight for religious freedom. One of the strengths of this story, which covers the period 1688-1716, is the powerfully evoked way in which the author captured the some of the effects on families of this persecution. It offered some interesting insights into the political and social conditions of the time and into the deep-seated religious bigotry which often erupted into violence – the repercussions of which have been felt in Northern Ireland ever since. The descriptions of life in the Jacobite Court in Saint-Germain were also fascinating. This was where Winifred joined her parents in 1690, became a lady-in-waiting, met William in 1697 and married him two years later. However, it was the descriptions of their family life in Dumfries, from 1700-1714, which really captured my imagination because they created such a vivid picture of what it must have been like to live constantly in fear of persecution.
The author’s characterisations felt, for the most part, credible but I must admit that in the early chapters I needed to keep on reminding myself that Winifred was supposed to be sixteen. This was because much of her behaviour – especially her tantrums when thwarted and her emotional attachment to her transitional object, the “comfort cloth” of a piece of silk from her mother’s petticoat – resembled that of a much younger child. Rather than feeling any empathy with her, initially I found myself feeling irritated and impatient – reactions I know I wouldn’t have had had she in fact been eight! However, as the story progressed I came to admire her loyalty, determination and her bravery, even though there were times when I thought that her husband didn’t deserve such loving devotion!
This is an easy story to read and I think that Morag Edwards has managed to create an essentially credible account of a fascinating historical character. However, although it is clear that she has done considerable research into the period, I am left with some confusion about Winifred’s real age because research I have done suggests her date of birth as circa 1679/80 whilst in this book it is given as 1672, a discrepancy which would shift some of the psychological underpinning of the story. This has influenced my decision to give the book three rather than four stars – although a more accurate reflection would be three and a half!
My thanks to Hookline Books for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.… (plus d'informations)