Sword of State

Tranter at his best. This book was and easy and good paced book. We meet the young Patrick, Master of Dunbar, heir to the Cospatrick Earl of March who is sent to meet with the new young King Alexander II and place a bid as heir to the throne as claimants of an older Royal Line. Patrick and Alexander II become great friends and Patrick rises to the office of Constable of Scotland and becomes Earl of Dunbar and March. He becomes the right hand of the King dealing with Henry III of England, King of Norway, unrest in the Highlands and Galloway. In all this he manages his great estates, raises a family and goes on a crusade on behalf of his monarch and friend. A good read.

Nigel Tranter is always a delight to read -- even this work written when the author was almost 90 years old. In it, we are taken back to the Scotland of Alexander II, where perils within and without the monarchy are threatening to destroy the kingdom's peace. Between the constant nibbling at the borders from England's Henry III, the Lords of the Isles, Norway's King Haakon, and even Olaf "The Morsel" Godfreyson, the diminutive King of Man. We see events unfold through the eyes of a young nobleman, Patrick Master of Dunbar, who was to rise to become the Earl of Dunbar and March, Chancellor and finally the Constable of the Realm. Patrick serves as Alexander's right arm, his "sword of state," as well as his close friend. The events of this novel occur in the century before William Wallace and Robert the Bruce of BRAVEHEART fame. Tranter, as in all his royal novels, shows Scotland as a land whose survival was always threatened -- and a land that gave birth to heroes and traitors in every generation. Although I have read almost 20 of Tranter's historical novels, the author's knowledge of his country's history and his skills as a storyteller make every one of them a thrilling and informative experience. If you like historical novels and have blood in your veins, read Nigel Tranter.

This is a great book and reads easy and is a great book for historical refernce. There is a sequal of somewhat in Envoy Extrodinaire also by Nigel Tranter, this book takes off as Sword of State leaves you. Two great books I highly recommended them to any Scottish History lover.