James Buchan

''An epic voyage well worth taking'' Telegraph''There is nothing quite like a James Buchan novel'' Financial TimesParis, 1784. Following a tragic battle in Quebec, we join William Neilson''s grandson - also William - as he strives to find purpose in a changing world, amidst a backdrop of terror and conspiracy, and battles so bitter, they break even the strongest of wills. Full of colour, and with rich and detailed research, the tales of William Nielson and his family are hugely entertaining and a must for readers of swashbuckling fiction.Praise for A CHALICE ARGENT, the second William Neilson novel:''Delightful ... William Neilson continues to exhibit basically all of the virtues. He''s brave, stoical, generous, truthful, constant, protective towards the weak and honourable to a fault. Yet entirely likeable. The nearest series to this I can think of is Patrick O''Brian''s Aubrey-Maturin cycle'' Francis Spufford, winner of the Costa First novel awardWhat readers say about A STREET SHAKEN BY LIGHT, the first William Neilson novel:''A tight and bright romp of a read'' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐''His rollicking romp ranges widely across the world, taking in the French Revolution, the Jacobite rebellion, love affairs, duels, general skullduggery and much else besides, in prose as elegant as it is witty'' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

''An epic voyage well worth taking'' Telegraph''There is nothing quite like a James Buchan novel'' Financial TimesFrance, 1754. William and Jeanne Neilson, together at last, are living in the deep country and are happier than either ever expected to be. Their children, the foundling Marie-Ange and young William, are growing up. Jeanne devotes her mornings to scientific research while William has exchanged soldiering for agricultural improvement.Yet both are restless. Jeanne, herself married to a poor Scotsman outlawed in Great Britain, is determined her adoptive daughter shall have a throne. Marie-Ange''s grace and rich dowry have caught the eyes of princes all over Europe. But Marie-Ange''s heart is firmly elsewhere.William, still haunted by the loss of his men at the battle of Culloden in 1746, dreams of one last fight to purge his shame.Then war breaks out again with England, and the family is torn apart and scattered into the unknown.Praise for A CHALICE ARGENT, the second William Neilson novel:''Delightful ... William Neilson continues to exhibit basically all of the virtues. He''s brave, stoical, generous, truthful, constant, protective towards the weak and honourable to a fault. Yet entirely likeable. The nearest series to this I can think of is Patrick O''Brian''s Aubrey-Maturin cycle'' Francis Spufford, winner of the Costa First novel awardWhat readers say about A STREET SHAKEN BY LIGHT, the first William Neilson novel:''A tight and bright romp of a read'' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐''His rollicking romp ranges widely across the world, taking in the French Revolution, the Jacobite rebellion, love affairs, duels, general skullduggery and much else besides, in prose as elegant as it is witty'' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

In the early 18th century, Edinburgh was a filthy backwater town synonymous with poverty and disease. Yet by century''s end, it had become the marvel of modern Europe, home to the finest minds of the day and their breathtaking innovations in architecture, politics, science, the arts, and economies - all of which continues to echo loudly today. Adam Smith penned "The Wealth of Nations". James Boswell produced "The Life of Samuel Johnson". Alongside them, pioneers such as David Hume, Robert Burns, James Hutton, and Sir Walter Scott transformed the way we understand our perceptions and feelings, sickness and health, relations between the sexes, the natural world, and the purpose of existence.James Buchan beautifully reconstructs the intimate geographic scale and boundless intellectual milieu of Enlightenment Edinburgh. With the scholarship of an historian and the elegance of a novelist, he tells the story of the triumph of this unlikely town and the men whose vision brought it into being.

''Delightful ... William Neilson continues to exhibit basically all of the virtues. He''s brave, stoical, generous, truthful, constant, protective towards the weak and honourable to a fault. Yet entirely likeable. The nearest series to this I can think of is Patrick O''Brian''s Aubrey-Maturin cycle'' Francis Spufford''One of our finest writers'' John Burnside, The TimesNew Year''s Eve, 1746 and William Neilson is on the move...William Neilson is a Scottish soldier and a reluctant Jacobite agent. His mission is to transport an exquisite and precious jewel to the exiled James Stuart, King of England, Scotland and Ireland, now residing in Italy. Before he leaves though, he has a more personal ambition - to see, for one last time, the woman he has loved for more than half his life.As he travels from the wastes and marshes of the Sologne, to the disorderly houses and prisons of Venice and the desolate court-in-exile of the King in Rome, William Neilson meets adventure from sword fights to kidnappings, and love stories to music, while facing sinister threats to his life from those determined to thwart him at every turn. Full of colour, and with rich and detailed research, the tales of William Nielson are hugely entertaining and a must for readers of swashbuckling fiction.''An epic voyage well worth taking'' Telegraph''There is nothing quite like a James Buchan novel'' Financial TimesWhat readers say about A STREET SHAKEN BY LIGHT, the first William Nielson novel:''A tight and bright romp of a read'' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐''His rollicking romp ranges widely across the world, taking in the French Revolution, the Jacobite rebellion, love affairs, duels, general skullduggery and much else besides, in prose as elegant as it is witty'' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

''An epic voyage well worth taking'' Telegraph''There is nothing quite like a James Buchan novel'' Financial TimesFrance, 1754. William and Jeanne Neilson, together at last, are living in the deep country and are happier than either ever expected to be. Their children, the foundling Marie-Ange and young William, are growing up. Jeanne devotes her mornings to scientific research while William has exchanged soldiering for agricultural improvement.Yet both are restless. Jeanne, herself married to a poor Scotsman outlawed in Great Britain, is determined her adoptive daughter shall have a throne. Marie-Ange''s grace and rich dowry have caught the eyes of princes all over Europe. But Marie-Ange''s heart is firmly elsewhere.William, still haunted by the loss of his men at the battle of Culloden in 1746, dreams of one last fight to purge his shame.Then war breaks out again with England, and the family is torn apart and scattered into the unknown. Praise for A CHALICE ARGENT, the second William Neilson novel:''Delightful ... William Neilson continues to exhibit basically all of the virtues. He''s brave, stoical, generous, truthful, constant, protective towards the weak and honourable to a fault. Yet entirely likeable. The nearest series to this I can think of is Patrick O''Brian''s Aubrey-Maturin cycle'' Francis Spufford, winner of the Costa First novel awardWhat readers say about A STREET SHAKEN BY LIGHT, the first William Neilson novel:''A tight and bright romp of a read'' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐''His rollicking romp ranges widely across the world, taking in the French Revolution, the Jacobite rebellion, love affairs, duels, general skullduggery and much else besides, in prose as elegant as it is witty'' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐