The Last Highlander: Scotland’s Most Notorious Clan Chief, Rebel & Double Agent

This book starts out with an introduction to the life of the Scottish Highlands in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, providing the stage setting for the remarkable exploits and life of Simon Fraser, the last member of the British House of Lords to be beheaded on Tower Hill. The author portrays a young man raised to the sound of Gaelic poetry, bagpipes, and the legends of the Clan Fraser. His father was a possible heir to the Barony of Lovat, but of a junior line. Only when the senior line died out without a male heir did Simon's father inherit the Barony. The men of the Clan Fraser fell into line behind Simon and his father, following ancient Highland custom. A MacKenzie lord, allied with the Atholl Murrays, then conspired to use every trick in the Scottish legal system to subordinate the Frasers to the MacKenzies. Simon rallied the Frasers to resist, eventually resulting in the MacKenzie candidate (and husband of the female heir of the senior line) being jailed while a gibbet was built outside his jail cell at Castle Dounie - the Fraser stronghold. The MacKenzie candidate resigned his claims to the Fraser clan and its lands. Simon became Chief of the Frasers and Lord Lovat when his father died soon thereafter. The author, who is married to a Lovat Fraser, tells the ensuing tale in a way that evokes the dangers, the loyalties, and the many ways that Scotland's legal system was subject to corruption in the early 18th century. Simon was eventually outlawed in Scotland and fled to the Jacobite court in France, where he met King James and Louis XIV, and tried to win back his claims to a Highland estate by planning and promoting a Jacobite invasion of Scotland. Simon was jailed by order of King Louis. The tale of how the Fraser subchiefs sent a loyal chief to rescue Simon, how Simon led the Frasers in capturing Inverness and supporting Hanover against a Jacobite invasion, and how eventually Simon won back the favor of King George I, is a tale of espionage, double-dealing, derring-do, and a very accurate portrait of the conspirators in both London and St. Germain-en-Laye. After describing the failed, early Jacobite rebellions, the author weaves a tale of Clan Fraser recovery, largely through Simon's masterful use of favoritism, corruption, and a judicial appeal to the British House of Lords that was a plain and gross breach of the 1707 Treaty of Union. From 1719 to 1745, Simon did everything he could to restore the Clan Fraser. The author invokes the color, the traditions, and the plain hard facts of Scottish Highland life in the 18th century. Without excessive sentiment, the acts leading to the destruction of Clan Fraser - and the complete frustration of all the hopes of Simon Fraser - are all laid out with historical accuracy and contemporary details. The author suggests that Simon supported the Jacobite rebellion of 1745 because the Hanoverian government had withdrawn its financial and political support, and that Simon gambled all and lost. The sad story of how Simon Fraser, Lord Lovat, sent his oldest son and his Clan into the 1745 rebellion and destruction, and how Simon was eventually executed after a trial in the House of Lords, is well and truly told. John A. Fraser, III January 8, 2013

Interesting story that leads up to the battle of Culloden. After visiting the battle site this has always been interesting to me. I knew very little about the clan system before I read this. A very interesting read. The only complaint I have is that it was made hard to follow because he kept calling people by different names. The main person had at least 3 names: Simon Fraser, Lord Lovat (often just shortened to Lovat) and MacShimidh. Others had multiple names and they would change when they became a lord, so they would go from Simon Fraser to Lovat for example. This was confusing. I think he should have mentioned their different names but as far as telling the story just used one name for them because they were the same person.

Fantastic book. Great history in a story format. Solid presentation to present the different facets of my great grandfather, about 7 generations back. As an avid history reader, I’d recommend this book even if I wasn’t a direct descendant.

I enjoyed this book. My only recommendation to anyone planning on reading this is to build a background on Scottish history first or it might be a bit confusing.

A lot of history is crammed into this book; Ms. Fraser has written about Scotland's famous 'first' family, The Fraser's. She researched thoroughly and the book reflects the details. It is easy to get a little confused; I found I needed to reread portions of the book. While it would have been complex to prepare, a genogram would be helpful with the generations of Frasers and the use of common names. Beth Bristow

This was a comprehensive, excellent biography of the enigmatic Simon Fraser, Lord Lovat, who was the last man beheaded for treason in the UK. (The beefeater at the Tower asked us this question and was surprised when I knew.) Lovat was a Jacobite at heart, but played both sides, supporting the Hanoverians in 1715 and Bonnie Prince Charlie in the 1745 rebellion, after which the Clan system was destroyed in the highlands. His and his clan's interests lay with the government, as he struggled all his life to restore Clan Fraser and his patrimony against grasping neighbors, only to lose it all in the '45, following his heart. He was not out in the '45, being too old and infirm, but his son and a large contingent of Frasers was. The book contains excellent descriptions of the tragedy at Culloden and the terrible aftermath. Despite being written by a Fraser, it is well balanced, neither exulting of condemning Lovat. History buffs, especially of Celtic history, will find it of interest. So will people who like to read about fascinating characters. I read it on kindle, very cost-effective that way. Robert A. Hall Author: The Coming Collapse of the American Republic

Only 20 pages left. From the late 1600s to post Culloden Scotland underwent convulsive change. Simon Fraser’s lifespan straddled these transformative years. His heart was always with the Stuarts, but the restoration of his clan required loyalty to Hanover. A dilemma he could never fully reconcile and in the end…fascinating window into the Highland world. As I read it the image of 3D chess kept coming to mind. A political environment extremely difficult to navigate. If you love Scottish history, you’ll love this.

Interesting book though I have heard from some Scottish Historian experts that it might be a little jaundiced from the family's point of view rather than straight fact. As is apparently, the book Culloden. I have been having a hard time navigating the pure facts of the Jacobite cause because of these sources, but it is a pretty decent read regardless and opens the doors to many more questions and much further reading. Through this book one can see the overriding and passionate need to maintain one's family honor and property despite public opinion, the tide of politics, or personal ruin. I had always assumed all Highlanders would be Jacobite by default, but the necessity to pander to both sides to reach one's personal goal is very well explained here, both from the Lovat point of view, as well as Argyll. Next I will be reading about them..

My husband is enjoying this book very much really a great read

It was 'outlander' series that made me interested in this history and it filled out some background to the Galbadon novel

Very good reading

Witzig, gut geschrieben

Lengthy, descriptive adventure of a Scottish Highlander. The author did an enormous amount of research and work to put this biography together to read as a novel. I was exhausted when finished reading.