Constance at Staircase Wit reminded me that I really ought to read The Lymond Chronicles, by Dorothy Dunnett, as part of my Reading Scotland project. The Lymond Chronicles consists of six books that tell the adventures of Francis Crawford of Lymond, younger brother of the Earl of Culter.
Book one is The Game of Kings, and the setting is the fluid border between England and Scotland in the 1540s (aka smack in the middle of the Tudor dynasty). Henry VIII wanted the Scots to betroth their infant Queen Mary to his son Edward as a way of conquering Scotland, and to this end he invaded Scotland and was rebuffed. After he died in 1547, the Lord Protector, Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset, who governed during the minority of his nephew, now Edward VI, continued the policy of "rough wooing"--that is, invading Scotland and trying to batter the Scots into betrothing the now 4-year-old Scottish queen to the now 9-year-old English king.
So what does all this have to do with Lymond (aka Francis to his family)? Plenty.
Lymond has been branded a traitor to the Scots and a spy for the English, stemming from his capture at the Battle of Solway Moss in 1542. He has a price on his head and after escaping captivity where he worked as a galley slave, he has been leading a band of merry men (think Robin Hood) and running circles around the Scottish nobility who are hell-bent on capturing and punishing him for all manner of crimes that he allegedly continues to commit.
He is handsome, witty, sharp, charming--a veritable silver-tongued devil. His literary quotes and references range from Latin to French to German to Spanish. He is a classical scholar as well as an excellent swordsman and archer and rider. Women adore him, some men admire him, some loathe him, including his brother.
I absolutely loved this book. However, it did take a fair amount of work to read. I wasn't up on the history of this particular aspect of the Scottish/English conflict/relationship, and so I had a lot to learn from the outset. There are a lot of characters, many with titles that also serve as names. My book included a map and a cast of characters, and I kept on having to refresh myself on who was who.
Lymond engages in a lot, and I mean a lot, of double talk. While the author sprinkles clues as to Lymond's real character and the truth behind his apparently nefarious actions, you don't really know what is going on, what to believe, until the very end when all is revealed.
I ended up listening to the audiobook, which mercifully had the read/listen feature, so I could listen while I read. This helped enormously as the story was entering my brain via two supporting avenues. I also found this incredible website: Now You Have Dunnett: Introduction, which is "A blog devoted to a chapter-by-chapter discussion of the novels of Dorothy Dunnett." During the first half of the book, I read the discussion after each section. By the time I got to the second half of the novel, I didn't need the discussion so much, but they were still fun to read and helped explain nuances that I didn't pick up on.
In addition to the discussions, the blog post on each section includes questions about character and plot to consider, favorite quotes from the novel, and adjectives used to describe Lymond. The blog really enhanced the book for this first-time reader. It is a book that begs to be read again...and again.
Beyond the main character, Lymond, I absolutely loved Sybella, his mother, and Christian Stewart, a blind girl who helps him, and Will Scott, the exuberant young man who desperately wants to be both a hero and just like Lymond. I also really enjoyed Sir Wat Scott (father of Will Scott) and his wife Janet Beaton, as well as Molly, the owner of the Ostrich. And, of course, Johnnie Bullo and Turkey Mat as well as the dynamic English couple, Gideon Somerville and his wife Kate--I really hope we see more of them in future books.
Despite its complexity, it was enthralling and I came to truly care about the characters. In other words, moved to tears. I loved traveling around the border lands between Scotland and England and visiting Stirling Castle, Inchmahome Priory, Edinburgh, and all the various castles in between.
There are so many wonderful passages in this book, but my favorite comes near the end when Lymond says that his knowledge of leading men in campaigns is based on his knowledge of both geography and chess:
The one shows you where to go, and the other what to do when you get there.
Dorothy Dunnett was a truly exceptional writer and gifted storyteller. Her books are challenging, dense, and ultimately so rewarding.
Clocking in at 543 pages, this most definitely qualifies for the 2026 Big Book Summer Challenge.
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