Brilliant! So atmospheric. The dangers of post-Reformation Scotland feel so real. Had I have judged this year’s Walter Scott Prize, this would have been my winner!

I love historical fiction and this is a real gem. Set in Scotland during the reign of Mary, Queen of Scots, this book presents a completely different perspective on the war between Scotland and England. There is true atmosphere and excellent plotting.

If you are a historical fiction fan you will not be disappointed by this novel! A sweeping, compelling historical memoir based on the real historical figure of William Fowler, Scottish Makar and Poet, and his love for Rose Nicholson, the daughter of a fisherman.

Set against the tumultous 16th century in Scotland, dealing with the Scottish reformation, enlightenment and philosophy, I enjoyed the historical accuracy that was retained whilst being able to tell a truly engaging story.

I especially loved the how vividly St Andrews is depicted as the centre stage of the story, a historical city in itself, Greig transported me to 16th century Scotland.

Another thing I loved was the mix of Scots dialogue intertwined in the writing, mainly the dialogue. This was a real plus for me (and for any non-Scots, Greig includes a helpful glossary at the back of the book - an excellent addition!)

A great historical fiction novel that is both well written and engaging. Thank you to NetGalley and Quercus for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A tale I have for you…
~ William Fowler

The time is the 1570s. Mary Queen of Scots has fallen from power and fled to France, and the boy King, Jamie Saxt, is in Stirling Castle – for his protection or as prisoner is a matter of interpretation – while Scotland is being governed by Regent Morton. John Knox is dead but his Reformation is thriving. The power struggle between Reformists and Roman Catholics is ongoing, with control of the young King at the heart of it. Two previous Regents have died, probably murdered, and both factions have taken turns at burning “martyrs”. Our narrator is Will Fowler, little more than a boy when the story begins, off to study at St Andrews, even then one of the ancient centres of learning – and politics, and plots, and skulduggery. And when Will and his new friend Tom Nicolson accidentally become embroiled in an incident in a pub, they find they have unwittingly foiled a plot and, in so doing, have aligned themselves with the Reformists, making enemies of the powerful Catholic family, the Hamiltons, and becoming friends with the adventurous and dangerous young Walter Scott of Branxholme and Buccleuch, the “Bold Buccleuch”, and his kin. These friendships and enmities will shape young Will’s future, as will his love for Tom’s lovely and wilful sister, Rose Nicolson…

Do you ever get that lovely feeling that an author has written a book specially for you? That’s how I feel about this one. It has everything I want in a Scottish novel: an interesting period of history that has nothing to do with Jacobites, nor Mary Queen of Scots, nor Glasgow gangs, nor dreary twentieth century alcoholics; a wonderful use of old Scots vocabulary, but avoiding too much hard to read dialect; exciting adventures, happening to likeable and entertaining characters; real insight into how people lived, thought and acted in the time; knowledgeable and affectionate insight, too, into the Scottish literary tradition; a touch of romance, but avoiding all soppiness; and some beautifully presented and well-timed humour, often at the expense of the religious divides that continue to plague Scotland into the present. I’ve loved Andrew Greig’s writing over several books, but often haven’t particularly enjoyed the subjects he’s chosen, so it’s a real delight for me to finally have the joy of that great writing in a story that seems custom-made to suit my preferences!

William Fowler of Embra (Edinburgh) was a real person – a makar (poet), writer, translator and courtier, who got involved in the various political shenanigans going on in Scotland at this muddled and perilous time. Here, Greig gives us just the early years of Fowler’s life, (and I sincerely hope he’s working hard on a follow-up, since the latter part of his career sounds just as interesting).

As far as I can tell with my limited knowledge of the period, it’s historically accurate – it’s certainly entirely convincing, and delightfully free of anachronistic attitudes forced onto the historical characters. Almost every character in it is a real person – I think only the Nicolsons and occasional peripheral characters are an outright creation of the author, though I stand to be corrected if I’m wrong on that. Given that I struggled from time to time to place people in their correct factions, I did wonder whether this would be a difficult one for people with no knowledge of the history, but I found as I read on that gradually it all became clear, so I feel it would work even for newcomers to the period and is a painless and enjoyable way to learn a little about this time. There is a guide to archaic Scots vocabulary, in my copy at the end of the book, although happily (being an archaic Scot) I didn’t find much need to refer to it. Greig is great at putting possibly unfamiliar words into context so that their meaning is obvious.

Greig is himself a poet, and his love of being part of the long and ancient tradition of Scottish poetry shows through often in his work. Here he gives a lovely picture of the young Will’s development as a poet, at first derivative of the poets he himself revered before gradually finding his own style. Unfortunately I couldn’t find much of Fowler’s poetry online, but I felt Greig gave a great flavour, not just of him but of some of the earlier poets he shows Fowler as admiring.

Rose is a great character too, an intelligent and opinionated young woman restricted by both gender and class. Educated beyond her social level by her brother Tom, she struggles to conform to society’s expectations and, as happened frequently in those days to women who couldn’t conform, falls foul of the church. Will’s passion for her is beautifully done – a boyish infatuation that slowly matures into true friendship and love. Although the book is given her name and her story develops throughout, the real star is Will and the meat of the story, for me at least, lies in the political machinations of the Reformation. Oh dear, I haven’t talked enough about the King, either, or Walter Scott and the border reiving, or the Earl of Bothwell, or Will’s adventures in Paris! There’s nothing else for it – you’ll just have to read it for yourself! My highest recommendation for this wonderful book!

In this historical novel we are introduced to the “Memoirs of William Fowler of Edinburgh, Student, Trader, Makar, Conduit”. Rose Nicholson is apparently the great love of his life. She was a fisher lassie from St Andrew’s and sister of one his closest friends at the University that they both attended in the 1570s. It should be said William is looking back on his life from old age and with the hindsight of a life lived through “interesting times” and his love was both unlikely and incapable of understanding the depths of Rose herself, a woman closely constricted by the economic realities of her times.
But William was born to a trading family in Edinburgh, his father is a new “protestant” and his mother – previously part of the court of Mary de Guise - a stalwart Catholic. Disputatious religion forms just a layer in the highly competitive realities of the political background to the times. Life is uncertain with risks of death for aristocrats who fall on the (perpetually evolving) wrong side and deeper long term threats to the livelihoods (and therefore lives) of the poorer beneath them.
William, albeit boy when his father has died in “friendly fire” during Edinburgh infighting, is to be financed to study at St Andrew’s University. The university itself is a political and religious hotbed that reflects the uncertainties of the times. William on his way north provides help to the young William Scott of Buccleuch and inadvertently finds himself falling into that side of the national disputes as factions fight over control of the child king James V and the wider nation. Support of this kind will prove to be a mixed blessing. He is not one of the “great” of history the names one may have heard about, just closely linked through happenstance. Through it his great desire is to be a poet and writer – this creative side will feed into the novel just as it is essential to his core, but family trade is necessary too and it seems is answering the demands of his allies.
At the start of his account he is just a boy, but as the months (and pages) progress he is being drawn inexorably along the route of his adult life. These years will be fundamental to, and dictate, the way his life as a whole will evolve and need to be lived.
It should be said that the politics of Scotland at this time are extremely complex, some disputes are about evolving religious belief, others more pragmatically about power, sometimes through emerging royal influence, others around family disputes or rivalries that are toxic over generations. The great skill of Greig as writer of this novel is to apparently understand the background both greater things and the minutiae and so present it all in a novel that draws so many threads together to a stage where the issues seem almost understandable to the non specialist. Plus of course the novel is about the people – some real, but some often shady figures of history and others fictional – and the sheer impact of the wars and disputes on them at this time. It is about the uncertainties and vagaries of life writ large, but also the sheer capacity of people to live through these and still seek a better life for their families and friends. This makes for an extremely fine novel for those interested in the history of the time, but perhaps too for those who come to it unawares.

A captivating fictional trip through the early reign of James VI and the political and religious shenanigans plaguing Scotland during the second part of Its very tumultuous 16th century.

Fiendishly plotted and blessed with a great cast of colorful & unforgettable characters, this wonderful love story is also an action-packed narrative that brilliantly weaves a vast & magnificent fictional tapestry of one of the darkest episodes in Scottish history.

Andrew Greig's prose was simply so beautiful that I had to slow down many many times in order to fully savour its beautiful flow. Just breathtaking fiction!

A delightful and rewarding reading experience from start to finish and another proof that some very talented authors are currently gifting us with marvellous historical fiction in English.

To be enjoyed without any moderation whatsoever👍👍

Many thanks to Netgalley and Quercus for this terrific ARC

A fascinating story written as a personal memoir of a William Fowler, a true historical character; of his life and times growing up while attending St Andrews university as a student during the reign of the boy King James VI. As an undergraduate being only from a merchant family he links up with a fellow lowly student from a fisherman’s family and meets his sister mending the nets during a visit. Rose the sister becomes the unrequited love of his life, not for him, as she is betrothed to a fisherman’s son. This during a most interesting turbulent period in Scotland; after the death of John Knox who inspired the Scottish reformation and the ascension of the boy King James on the throne. The plots and counter plots for supremacy between vested interest, also gets the three involved and how they fare and escape fatal consequences makes the story.

I loved Andrew Greig’s last book, Fair Helen, a beautifully written historical novel based on a Scottish Border Ballad, so when I saw that his new one, Rose Nicolson, was going to be set in the same time and place I couldn’t wait to read it. Now that I’ve had the opportunity, I’m pleased to say that I enjoyed it just as much as Fair Helen and can highly recommend it to anyone interested in learning more about Scotland in the 16th century.

Rose Nicolson is a fictional account of the life of a real historical figure, William Fowler, a Scottish makar or poet, and is presented as his memoir written as an older man looking back on his youth. His story begins in Embra (Edinburgh) in 1574: Mary, Queen of Scots has fled to England leaving her young son, James VI, on the throne, but the real power is held by the Earl of Morton, the latest of four regents to govern Scotland during the young king’s minority. The Protestant religion now dominates but there are still those who have not given up hope of restoring Mary to the throne and returning Scotland to the Catholic church. It is during this time of political and religious uncertainty that William Fowler, the only son of an Edinburgh merchant family, sets out for St Andrews where he will become a student at the university.

William’s time in St Andrews is vividly described: the education he receives; the enlightening conversations and debates on topics such as philosophy, religion, politics and literature; his first tentative attempts at writing poetry; and the friendships he forms with the other students as they bond over drinks at the howff (pub) or during a game of gowf (golf). As you can see, Andrew Greig sprinkles Scots dialect throughout his prose, as well as using language appropriate to the time period – apart from one or two words and phrases here and there that I thought seemed out of place – and the overall effect is a narrative style that feels authentic and convincing. There’s a glossary at the end of the book for anyone who needs it, but I found it easy enough to read without it.

You may be wondering where Rose Nicolson comes into the story. Well, she’s the sister of a friend William makes at university, Tom Nicolson. Rose and Tom are from a Fife fishing family, but while Tom has been given the opportunity to study and to pursue an academic life, that is not possible for Rose. William is captivated by her intelligence, courage and quick mind, but a marriage is already planned for Rose with a local fisherman, so despite William’s love for her it seems that she will never be his wife.

As well as the romantic thread of the novel and the academic one, we also learn a lot about the period of history during which the story is set. The reign of Mary, Queen of Scots is well covered in historical fiction, but the early years of James VI’s reign are written about less often, which is a shame as it’s a complex, interesting and very eventful period. Many of the characters William meets in the novel are people who really existed; these include George Buchanan, the Scottish historian and humanist scholar, who recruits William as a spy; Esmé Stewart, the first of the young king’s many favourites; and most notably, Walter Scott of Branxholme and Buccleuch, the clever and charismatic border reiver who becomes a good friend of William’s and really deserves a whole book to himself! As for our hero William Fowler, I knew nothing at all about him until I read this book; I resisted the temptation to look him up online until I had finished, but it seems that he led a fascinating life. Rose Nicolson only covers the early part of his career, but it looks as though there’s enough material for several more books!

An excellent historical fiction, great characters and compelling plot.
I love the storytelling and the vivid historical background.
i liked how the author mixes English with the Scottish dialect creating something very original even if a bit hard to understand at times (there's a glossary)
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Rose Nicolson is the story of Will Fowler, a young poet and furniture dealer, who falls in love with his impoverished university friend’s sister who is incredibly bright, but is promised in marriage to a fisherman. There’s everyday life, mixed with a touch of high politics, all wrapped up in an engrossing Bildungsroman.

I loved the setting of sixteenth century Embra (Edinburgh) during the early reign of Jamie Saxt (James the Sixth of Scotland and later to united the kingdoms of Scotland and England). The Scots dialect was very atmospheric, but sometimes difficult for this Englishwoman to understand. If you’re the same, there’s a wonderful glossary at the back of the book which I would have found very helpful if I’d thought to look for it!

A recommended read for lovers of historical fiction.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing a review copy in exchange for honest feedback.