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Join us for an evening of unbelievable tales from the life of one of Scotland's most notorious and romantic figures, Simon Fraser, Lord Lovat from his new biography by Sarah Fraser. Simon Fraser, Lord Lovat, is one of Scotland's most notorious and romantic figures. A double-agent and spy, he became the most famous supporter of Bonnie Prince Charlie and the last nobleman to be executed for treason. Born into the unpredictable world of the late seventeenth-century as a younger son of a junior branch of the Frasers, Simon determined to enforce his claim to be chief of the Fraser clan and enjoy the income from its lands. In a life packed with plotting and incident, spells as a wanted outlaw, a prisoner in the Bastille, as loyal British soldier and aspirant Duke, Simon became the greatest double-agent of the age. Determined in 1701 to seek his fortune with exiled Jacobite king in France, Fraser acted as a spy for both the Stuarts and the Hanoverian Georges; claimed to be both Protestant and Roman Catholic. He was feudal, a Highland warrior chief, and benevolent despot. He disputed theological niceties with the Papal Nuncio in France, while courting Louis XIV for money to fund an invasion of England. In July 1745, Bonnie Prince Charlie landed on Eriskay -- a tiny Hebridean island and launched his last and greatest attempt to seize back his throne, joined after victory at Prestonpans by Simon Fraser and his clans. They reached Derby before retreating ignominiously and facing final defeat at the hands of the British at Culloden. Fraser -- one of Scotland's most colourful characters -- was found hiding in a tree. The Last Highlander is a gripping adventure and swash-buckling spy story uses the events of Lovat's life to recreate this extraordinary period of history. As Sarah Fraser argues, the defeat at Culloden led directly to the end of traditional Gaelic civilization; to the brutal clearances and 'pacification' of the Highlands which followed and the lost civilisations of Scotland that were destroyed after 1745 by English repression. The Last Highlander is a great non-fiction historical adventure for all fans of Ben MacIntyre and C.J. Sansom. This event is ticketed, but tickets are FREE. Tickets are available from the front desk at Blackwell's. For more information or to reserve a signed copy please contact Ann Landmann on 0131 622 8222 or events.edinburgh@blackwell.co.uk
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