Robert the Bruce

Format:

Book

Title:

Robert the Bruce

Uniform Title:

Renegade

Author:

Whyte, Jack.

ISBN:

9780765331571

9780765331601

Edition:

First U.S. edition.

Publication:

New York : Forge, 2013.

Physical Description:

xiii, 575 pages ; 25 cm.

Series title(s):

Guardians series ;

Number in series:

BK. 2.

General Note:

"Originally published under the title The Renegade in Canada by Viking Canada, an imprint of the Penguin Group"--Title page verso.

"A Tom Doherty Associates book."

Summary:

A fictionalized retelling of the life of Scottish warrior king Robert the Bruce traces his witness to the splintering of Scotland after the crowning of John Balliol before engaging in a decades-long fight between the nobility and England for Scotland's independence.

Personal Subject:

Robert I, King of Scots, 1274-1329-Fiction.

Robert I, King of Scots, 1274-1329. (OCoLC)fst00018277

Subject(s):

Scotland -- History -- Robert I, 1306-1329 -- Fiction.

Geographic Term:

Scotland -- History -- Robert I, 1306-1329 -- Fiction.

Scotland.

Genre:

Biographical fiction.

Historical fiction.

History

Fiction.

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... Silver Falls Library	FIC WHYTE	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Salem Main Library	Whyte, J.	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

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Summary

From author Jack Whyte comes the true story of Robert the Bruce: a passionate man. An incredible warrior. And one of Scotland's finest.

Robert I, or as he is known to a grateful Scottish nation, Robert the Bruce, was one of Scotland's greatest kings, as well as one of the most famous warriors of his generation. He spearheaded the valiant Scots in their quest for freedom, leading his people during the Wars of Scottish Independence against the Kingdom of England during the middle ages. His reign saw the recognition of Scotland as an independent nation, and today Bruce is remembered in Scotland as a national hero.

It was by no means a fair and easy road for this indomitable fighter. As a young man he saw the English king Edward I award the vacant Crown of Scotland to John Balliol. The nation quickly splintered into factions and this spurred Robert and his father to at first side with Edward and then against John, whom many of the nobles did not feel was the correct person to guide the nation. Thus began a decades-long path for Scottish freedom. To achieve this goal, Robert sometimes had to delicately balance the power of the nobles against the might of the English. He was a tireless campaigner and after a full life of battle and diplomacy, in May 1328, King Edward III signed the Treaty of Edinburgh-Northampton, which recognized Scotland as an independent kingdom and Bruce as its king.

Author Notes

Writer Jack Whyte was born in Scotland in 1940. He was raised in Scotland, but educated in England and France before migrating to Canada in 1967. He spent one year teaching English in high school, before focusing on a career as a professional singer, musician, and actor. He wrote, directed and appeared in a one man show about Scotland's national poet Robert Burns in the early 1970's. Due to the show's success, he started writing for CBC national television and eventually went into advertising. He is the author of The Camulod Chronicles or A Dream of Eagles series which sets the tales of King Arthur in Roman Britain and Templar Trilogy which deals with the rise and fall of the Order of the Knights of the Temple of Solomon.

(Bowker Author Biography)

Reviews (2)

Booklist Review

The second volume in Whyte's Guardians series is a bold, brash tribute to Robert the Bruce, one of medieval Scotland's fiercest warriors and its most revered king. Following the formula he established in The Forest Laird, his fictional biography of William Wallace, Whyte traces Robert's childhood, adolescence, and eventual evolution into a stalwart leader and champion of Scottish independence. As Edward I of England continues his quest to transform his unwilling neighbor to the north into his personal fiefdom, Robert develops the military and political skills necessary in order to lead a rebellion and liberate his beloved nation. All roads in this series can and must lead to the bloody Battle of Bannockburn as Whyte introduces James Douglas, setting the stage for the next installment in this series. Historical-fiction fans will dig into this meaty Highland saga.--Flanagan, Margaret Copyright 2010 Booklist

Library Journal Review

Young Robert, though very independent and innovative even as a child and raised in the shadow of recognized Scottish leaders, cannot even dream of the demands that will be laid upon him in his mature years. The struggles endured will help shape this future icon into the man some refer to as the Hero of Scotland, eclipsing even the well-known and renowned William Wallace. In the second novel of his "The Guardians" series (after The Forest Laird: A Tale of William Wallace) Whyte sets this fact-based tale firmly on Scottish soil. The politics, deceits, favoritism, loyalties, glory, and honor grind and spark against one another, honing a clear and sharply focused representation of the times and events recorded some 800 years ago. VERDICT Despite its doorstopper size, this captivating and enjoyable venture into historical fiction takes its time and informs along the way. Whyte's dialog, the actions and motivations of his characters, and his vivid evocation of the period and the landscape all ring true. [With the Scottish government set to hold a referendum in 2014 on the issue of independence from the UK, there is sure to be interest in the king who secured Scotland's freedom in 1328.-Ed.]-Russell Miller, Prescott P.L., AZ (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.