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  • Rose Nicolson

  • Memoir of William Fowler of Edinburgh: Student, Trader, Makar, Conduit, Would-Be Lover in Early Days of Our Reform
  • By: Andrew Greig
  • Narrated by: Mr Angus King
  • Length: 13 hrs and 8 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (28 ratings)

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Rose Nicolson

By: Andrew Greig
Narrated by: Mr Angus King
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Summary

'A tale I have for you.'

Embra, winter of 1574. Queen Mary has fled Scotland, to raise an army from the French. Her son and heir, Jamie, is held under protection in Stirling Castle. John Knox is dead. The people are unmoored and lurching under the uncertain governance of this riven land. It's a deadly time for young student Will Fowler, short of stature, low of birth but mightily ambitious, to make his name.

Fowler has found himself where the scorch marks of the martyrs burned at the stake can be seen on every street, where differences in doctrine can prove fatal, where the feuds of great families pull innocents into their bloody realm. There he befriends the austere stick-wielding philosopher Tom Nicolson, son of a fishing family whose sister Rose, untutored, brilliant and exceedingly beautiful, exhibits a free-thinking mind that can only bring danger upon her and her admirers.

The lowly students are adept at attracting the attentions of the rich and powerful, not least Walter Scott, brave and ruthless heir to Branxholm and Buccleuch, who is set on exploiting the civil wars to further his political and dynastic ambitions. His friendship and patronage will lead Will to the to the very centre of a conspiracy that will determine who will take Scotland's crown.

Rose Nicolson is a vivid, passionate and unforgettable novel of this most dramatic period of Scotland's history, told by a character whose rise mirrors the conflicts he narrates, the battles between faith and reason, love and friendship, self-interest and loyalty. It confirms Andrew Greig as one of the great contemporary writers of fiction.

©2022 Andrew Greig (P)2022 Quercus Editions Limited
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What listeners say about Rose Nicolson

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Excellent

A thoroughly involving tale of love and religion but it’s Scottish so there’s a suitable amount of rain and misery. Really interesting and diverse characters (I would have loved a historical note at the end) in a very engaging story.

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Immersive story

The world feels real and the narration captures the Scottish mood of the book perfectly

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Lives lived in troubl't times

A braw tale tellin' o' lives catched up in times o' chynge and disturbin'. I joumeyed wi' Will an' Rose tae the verra end. Terrific narration by Angus King, as aye.

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another cracker

love Andrew Greig and this was the first audible of his I have listened to. superb

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Wonderfully written

Would definitely recommend this book. Gripped from beginning to end and so lovely to listen to the Scots language.

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Lives up to the hype

Fascinating, vivid, thought provoking and gripping. A brilliantly written, expertly read illustration of James VI’s turbulent Scotland.

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A brilliant, evocative and profoundly moving book.

Greig is a writer of rare lyrical gifts and this superb tale, set in the troubled Scotland of the minority of James VI, is as fine an historical novel as anyone could wish.

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1 person found this helpful