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The Emperor's New Kilt: The Two Secret Histories of Scotland
Did you know that most tartans date only from 1822? Or that the kilt was invented by a factory manager? Know that a Scot landed in America almost a century before Columbus? Or that Scotland had electric lighting 70 years before Watt patented the light bulb? Probably not. Because Scotland has two secret histories. The image of the Scots as whisky-drinking, tartan-sporting, tight-fisted kilt wearers is famous throughout the world. That image is manufactured. Yet Scotland's reputation for producing inventors, thinkers and explorers - people who have changed the course of world history - is nowhere as prevalent. The scale of Scottish influence has been totally under-estimated.
192 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2000
About the author
Jan-Andrew Henderson
66 books35 followers‘One of the UK’s most promising writers’ - Edinburgh Evening News
‘One of the UK’s best talents’ - Lovereading.co.uk
‘Jan Henderson writes the kind of thrillers that make you miss your stop on the bus’
- Times Educational Supplement
‘A moving, funny and original writer’ - The Austin Chronicle
‘Jan Henderson has written some incredible books… One of my favourite authors’
- Sharon Rooney (My Mad Fat Diary. The Electrical Life of Louis Wain. Barbie)
‘If there were more books like yours out there, maybe people would be reading more’
- Charlie Higson (Young James Bond and The Enemy series)
Jan-Andrew Henderson (J.A. Henderson) is the author of 40 children’s, teen, YA and adult fiction and non-fiction books - published in the UK, USA, Australia, Canada and Europe by Oxford University Press, Collins, Hardcourt Press, Amberley Books, Oetinger Publishing, Mainstream Books, Black and White Publishers, Mlada Fontana, Black Hart and Floris Books. He has been shortlisted for sixteen literary awards in the UK and Australia and won the Doncaster Book Prize, The Aurealis Award and the Royal Mail Award - Britain’s biggest children’s book prize.
He runs The Green Light Literary Breakdown Service - specialising in developmental and copy editing, is a professional member of the Institute of Professional Editors and teaches online writing courses for the Romance Writers of Australia Academy, Infostack, Skill Bundles and Authors Crib. He has appeared at numerous writers festivals and gives talks and given workshops for children and adults in conjunction with Literature Live, Authors Abroad, Nexus Arts and Speakers Ink.
Other roles include industry assessor and mentor for the Queensland Writers Centre, mentor for the Horror Writers Association, Secretary for the Romance Writers of Australia, ambassador for Australia Reads, peer/grant assessor for the Australian Council for The Arts, convenor for the Aurealis Awards, judge for the Bram Stoker Awards and the Robert N Stephenson Prize. He has been Writer in Residence for organisations as disparate as Ipswich Kindergarten and The Catholic School, Townsville.
He features in many anthologies, as a contributor and editor and has written several plays - performed as far apart as New York State, Texas, Leeds and the Edinburgh International Festival.
He is also the founder of Black Hart Entertainment which runs the famous City of the Dead Ghost Tours in Edinburgh.
‘One of the UK’s best talents’ - Lovereading.co.uk
‘Jan Henderson writes the kind of thrillers that make you miss your stop on the bus’
- Times Educational Supplement
‘A moving, funny and original writer’ - The Austin Chronicle
‘Jan Henderson has written some incredible books… One of my favourite authors’
- Sharon Rooney (My Mad Fat Diary. The Electrical Life of Louis Wain. Barbie)
‘If there were more books like yours out there, maybe people would be reading more’
- Charlie Higson (Young James Bond and The Enemy series)
Jan-Andrew Henderson (J.A. Henderson) is the author of 40 children’s, teen, YA and adult fiction and non-fiction books - published in the UK, USA, Australia, Canada and Europe by Oxford University Press, Collins, Hardcourt Press, Amberley Books, Oetinger Publishing, Mainstream Books, Black and White Publishers, Mlada Fontana, Black Hart and Floris Books. He has been shortlisted for sixteen literary awards in the UK and Australia and won the Doncaster Book Prize, The Aurealis Award and the Royal Mail Award - Britain’s biggest children’s book prize.
He runs The Green Light Literary Breakdown Service - specialising in developmental and copy editing, is a professional member of the Institute of Professional Editors and teaches online writing courses for the Romance Writers of Australia Academy, Infostack, Skill Bundles and Authors Crib. He has appeared at numerous writers festivals and gives talks and given workshops for children and adults in conjunction with Literature Live, Authors Abroad, Nexus Arts and Speakers Ink.
Other roles include industry assessor and mentor for the Queensland Writers Centre, mentor for the Horror Writers Association, Secretary for the Romance Writers of Australia, ambassador for Australia Reads, peer/grant assessor for the Australian Council for The Arts, convenor for the Aurealis Awards, judge for the Bram Stoker Awards and the Robert N Stephenson Prize. He has been Writer in Residence for organisations as disparate as Ipswich Kindergarten and The Catholic School, Townsville.
He features in many anthologies, as a contributor and editor and has written several plays - performed as far apart as New York State, Texas, Leeds and the Edinburgh International Festival.
He is also the founder of Black Hart Entertainment which runs the famous City of the Dead Ghost Tours in Edinburgh.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 17, 2012
This book is "the secret histories of Scotland" and does say a lot about the history of Scotland and the Scots, but the author seems to be dwelling on the shortcomings of the people rather than an unbiased version.
She does mention the great things the Scots have developed/invented or improved, but they seem to get short shrift in relation to the blunders of battles and uprisings.
She does mention the great things the Scots have developed/invented or improved, but they seem to get short shrift in relation to the blunders of battles and uprisings.
May 19, 2008
Basically reaffirms what we all know, Scotsmen invented pretty much EVERYTHING before anyone else.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews