The End of the Line

by Nigel Tranter

With Robert III ailing and weak, his brother siezed his chance to become Regent. George the Cospatrick was sent to London for help from Henry IV in order to avert civil war. In due course, Cospatrick's son was destined to pay the price of his father's links with the Plantagenets.

380 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Nigel Tranter OBE was a Scottish historian and writer. He was the author of a wide range of books on Scottish castles, particularly on themes of architecture and history. He also specialised in deeply researched historical novels that cover centuries of Scottish history.

Reviews

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not the end of the line as far as the bloodline is concerned but the end of the Cospatricks as Earls of Dunbar and March. Unfortunately, they happened to be a powerful family of royal descent that shared a period of time with the early Stewart dynasty. The first two kings were inept so Robert, Earl of Fife basically became the power behind the throne. He would imprison and starve his nephew, David, heir to the throne, to death. David's brother, James, tried to flee to France but the Earl of Fife by now the Duke of Albany, tipped the English off and James was captured and spent eighteen years as a "guest" of the English crown. All the while the Cospatricks are treading very warily as the various Stewart princes grab for land and power. They support the return of King James and become major players as members of his council but when James was assassinated the Cospatricks fell from power as the remaining Stewart princes jockeyed for access of the child-monarch who was being held by alternately by Sir Alexander Livingstone and Sir William Crichton. George, 11th Earl of Dunbar & March would be the last earl and would live out his life in exile in England

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tranter overlapped his novels so that the reader gets to see things from different family's perspectives.
Joan of Arc is mentioned in this book.
Tranter 's books are so full of information about the times and politics of the day. He could have skipped the love stories.