A Folly of Princes

House of Stewart #2

by Nigel Tranter

The second part of the "House of Stewart" trilogy, the other titles being "Lords of Misrule" and "Captive Crown". Scotland at the dawn of the 15th century was a wretched spectacle. While the feeble Robert the Third still clung to the throne, his kingdom was torn by warring factions.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Scotland

384 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

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

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good read

I am grateful to Mr Tranter for penning these historical fiction novels. I would probably get through them faster if I didn’t stop to research for additional information along the way. This story was fairly true to timeline and not too much “odd”, except for the lioness (still confused by that part of the storyline). Fun to have places I’ve lived and visited made mention of. Now on to the third part of this trilogy

[Mark Stangroome · Rating 3 out of 5]

While is it possible that not having read the first book of the series affected how much that I enjoyed this one, although personally I doubt it.

There is nothing really wrong with it but for me it fell between two stalls, it did not have enough action to fall into that genre but equally the characters were not deep enough to really 'know' and so it was not a 'people based'novel.

The beginning of the book is quite a challenge, trying to work out which character is which but then thankfully the number of names seemed to diminish to a more manageable level; it almost felt as though names were being thrown in for no other reason than to show that the author knew the family geneology. A lot is made of King Richard/Imposter including his attending a ball in 1400 when most historians do not believe that he met the Scottish Royals until 1402, and besides that his presence in the book added nothing.

It was ok, but maybe too clever for its' own good.

[Marc · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second installment of The Stewart Trilogy is just as good as the first.

Political maneuvers between the heir to the Scottish throne, David and his Uncle Robert dominate most of the book, although there are enough battles and skirmishes throughout.

Looking forward to diving straight into the third book.

[iain swinnerton · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Marvellous Nigel Tranter.

I have been a great admirer for many years of this notable Scottish author: his knowledge of the history of Scotland and the relations of the various families is truly amazing.
I look forward to the third volume very much.

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

#22 chronologically of Tranter historic novels.

[Kay Robart · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel is the second in Tranter's Stewart Trilogy. It is an interesting novel of the power struggle taking place during the reign of the weak King Robert III of Scotland. His brother has been ruling for him as governor, and his corrupt rule is resented by the peers of Scotland. The main character, Jamie Stewart, supports the king's son, David Stewart, who eventually takes the governorship from his uncle. Although this novel does not contain as much action as the first novel, it is full of political skullduggery.

See my complete review here:

http://whatmeread.wordpress.com/tag/a...

[bluetyson]

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