The King's Own Scottish Borderers - A Concise History

This is the story of the Highland Scots who sailed to Pictou, Nova Scotia, in 1773 aboard the brig Hector. These intrepid emigrants came for many reasons: the famine of the previous spring, pressures of population growth, intolerable rent increases, trouble with the law, the hunger of landless men to own land of their own. Upon arrival at Pictou, after an appalling storm-tossed crossing, they found they had been deceived.

The promised prime farming land turned out to be virgin forest. Only the kindness of the Mi'kmaq and the few New Englanders already settled there enabled them to survive until they learned how to exploit the forests and clear land. But survive they did, and their prosperity encouraged shiploads of emigrants, many fellow clansmen, to join them, making northeastern Nova Scotia a true New Scotland.

During the 16th century, the Boderland between Scotland and England was something of a world apart, with its own strange laws, beliefs and customs.  Young John Maxwell, Warden of the West March, did his best to control a motley crew of dalesmen and mosstroopers from Liddesdale, Eskdale and Dryfesdale among others, and keep some sort of balance with the unruly West March English.   As the turbulent reign of King Henry VIII gave way to the rule of Elizabeth Tudor, John Maxwell - a loyal supporter of Mary, Queen of Scots - inevitably found himself drawn into the wider sphere of the kingdom's affairs.  How he fared with Mary's suitors, courtiers and enmies, and his courtship of the beautiful Agnes Herries, forms the fascinating subject of Nigel Tranter's captivating novel. 'Through his imaginative dialogue, he provides a voice for Scotland's heroes' Scotland on Sunday

Murrayfield, the Calcutta Cup, March 1990. England vs. Scotland - winner-takes-all for the Five Nations Grand Slam, the biggest prize in northern hemisphere rugby. Will Carling's England are the very embodiment of Margaret Thatcher's Britain - snarling, brutish and all-conquering. Scotland are the underdogs - second-class citizens from a land that's become the testing ground for the most unpopular tax in living memory: Thatcher's Poll Tax. Fifteen men in blue jerseys are plotting the downfall of the English oppressors. In Edinburgh, nationalism is rising high - what happens in the stadium will resound far beyond the pitch.

The Grudge brilliantly recaptures a day that has gone down in history as a great day for Scotland. This is the real story of an extraordinary game, told with astounding insight and almost unprecedented access to key players, coaches and supporters on both sides (Will Carling, Ian McGeechan, Brian Moore and the rest). Tom English has produced a gripping account of a titanic struggle that thrusts the reader right into the heart of the action. Game on.