Lion of Scotland

by Neil Robinson

This is the story of Norman McLeod and his 40 year search for a land where he and his followers could live their lives as they wished. As a rebel minister from the Western Highlands, McLeod emigrated to Canada in 1817, and in 1852 he led 800 of his followers to Australia and then to New Zealand.

156 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[Keith Skinner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Neil Robinson was a lyrical writer and this slim account of Norman McLeod, a Scottish minister that led a large following to several continents, is both well-rendered and full of charm. I was more interested in the Cape Breton years and was somewhat disappointed by the level of detail and some of the conflicting information I discovered. However, Robinson makes up for that with excellent storytelling and some heartfelt portraits of some of the surviving (at the time) descendants of the original immigrants. More than half the book focuses on the New Zealand years so anyone interested in that part of the story should take a look at this book. As for the Cape Breton years, a more suitable and thorough account may be found in The Well-Watered Garden: The Presbyterian Church in Cape Breton , 1798-1860 by Laurie Stanley.