What do you think?
John Splendid: The Tale of a Poor Gentleman and the Little Wars of Lorn
Excerpt from John Splendid: The Tale of a Poor Gentleman and the Little Wars of Lorn
One day, at a place called Nordlingen in the Mid Franken, binding a wound Gavin got in the sword-arm, I said, What's your wish at this moment, cousin?
He looked at me with a melting eye, and the flush hove to his face.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
One day, at a place called Nordlingen in the Mid Franken, binding a wound Gavin got in the sword-arm, I said, What's your wish at this moment, cousin?
He looked at me with a melting eye, and the flush hove to his face.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
- GenresScotland
486 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1898
About the author
Neil Munro
166 books14 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads data base.
Neil Munro was a Scottish journalist, newspaper editor, author and literary critic. He was born in Inveraray and worked as a journalist on various newspapers.
He was basically a serious writer, but is now mainly known for his humorous short stories, originally written under the pen name of Hugh Foulis. (It seems that he was not making a serious attempt to disguise his identity, but wanted to keep his serious and humorous writings separate.) The best known were about the fictional Clyde puffer the Vital Spark and her captain Para Handy, but they also included stories about the waiter and kirk beadle Erchie MacPherson, and the travelling drapery salesman Jimmy Swan.
Neil Munro was a Scottish journalist, newspaper editor, author and literary critic. He was born in Inveraray and worked as a journalist on various newspapers.
He was basically a serious writer, but is now mainly known for his humorous short stories, originally written under the pen name of Hugh Foulis. (It seems that he was not making a serious attempt to disguise his identity, but wanted to keep his serious and humorous writings separate.) The best known were about the fictional Clyde puffer the Vital Spark and her captain Para Handy, but they also included stories about the waiter and kirk beadle Erchie MacPherson, and the travelling drapery salesman Jimmy Swan.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 6, 2023
An alternative romantic Highland tale from Scottish history
The story of two friends & cousins (& their love triangle), both proud Gaels & members of Clan Campbell in their desperate fight against the Catholic & Episcopalian MacDonalds as part of Scotland's mid 1600s civil war between Covenanters & Royalists in the wider Wars of the Three Kingdoms - one a shy, but earnestly pious young man, the other a gallus & slightly cynical former mercenary with Gustavus Adolphus in the Thirty Years' War. The enemy are truthfully presented as being no better or worse, with a couple of real historical Highlanders featuring - namely the Campbell chief himself, Argyll the politician & the worthy MacDonald adversary, the great warrior, Alasdair MacColla.
The story of two friends & cousins (& their love triangle), both proud Gaels & members of Clan Campbell in their desperate fight against the Catholic & Episcopalian MacDonalds as part of Scotland's mid 1600s civil war between Covenanters & Royalists in the wider Wars of the Three Kingdoms - one a shy, but earnestly pious young man, the other a gallus & slightly cynical former mercenary with Gustavus Adolphus in the Thirty Years' War. The enemy are truthfully presented as being no better or worse, with a couple of real historical Highlanders featuring - namely the Campbell chief himself, Argyll the politician & the worthy MacDonald adversary, the great warrior, Alasdair MacColla.
September 19, 2022
I'm ashamed to admit that I'd only ever read Munro's Para Handy stories, but have now put that right by reading this his first novel.
It is a good yarn about a turbulent period of Scottish history. I like how he doesn't take sides, even though his heroes are Campbells. Munro shows himself to be both a good storyteller and good historian. The only negative thing for me was his strange spellings which did nothing to add to the story. I look forward to reading some of his Jacobite novels.
It is a good yarn about a turbulent period of Scottish history. I like how he doesn't take sides, even though his heroes are Campbells. Munro shows himself to be both a good storyteller and good historian. The only negative thing for me was his strange spellings which did nothing to add to the story. I look forward to reading some of his Jacobite novels.
December 23, 2021
D'une densité littéraire impressionnante. Parfois un peu trop, d'ailleurs. Les aventures d'Elrigmore et de Splendid ressemblent celles de Rob Roy, peut-être un soupçon d'Outlander, mais ce n'est que 1644, et les héros sont des Campbell. Leurs fameux heurts contre les MacDonald finiront à Glencoe de manière funeste, comme on le sait.
February 11, 2014
I have read the author's Para Handy tales many times over the last forty years but the only other stories I had come across by him were some short stories in an anthology so I was pleased to see this novel in the library.
It is set in the seventeenth century during the civil war and although it was first published in 1898 the author writes using many old fashioned words especially for names of places. The hero, Colin, is a good character who sometimes does not really understand what is happening and his companion Iain McIver, the John Splendid of the title, is a well drawn character for all his faults.
It is set in the seventeenth century during the civil war and although it was first published in 1898 the author writes using many old fashioned words especially for names of places. The hero, Colin, is a good character who sometimes does not really understand what is happening and his companion Iain McIver, the John Splendid of the title, is a well drawn character for all his faults.
June 9, 2013
Longwinded, but the story was enjoyable at the core, and was an interesting invocation of the highland culture in Argyle
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews