The Border Lord

  During the late 16th century on the contentious frontier between England and Scotland, feud and terror, raid and reprisal were the ordinary stuff of life, and power was held by some of the most intriguing renegades of history ― raiders and adventurers, plunderers and rustlers ―  the infamous border lords.

     From the history of this fierce and volatile period, author Jan Wescott has created a dramatic and gripping story about Francis Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell, the uncrowned king of Scotland.  James VI, Mary Stewart's son, sat on the throne, but he was an unimaginative sort, timid and inept. No Scotsman swelled with pride when Jaime appeared, but in the Lowlands, the Border country, there was fervent allegiance to the Lord Bothwell. Every clansman was his to command.  When the Earl rode forth from his beloved Border lands on his outlaw excursions, a cry of "A Bothwell! A Bothwell!" swept from the sea and across the braes.    

    Bothwell was also irresistible to women ― from James's Danish queen to the least of her attendants ― Bothwell accepted their favors ― and bestowed his ― with impartiality. That is, until he met fair Anne of the golden hair, a bold and spirited lass who dared to entertain an outlaw and then defy him. 

      The story moves swiftly from the time of Bothwell's sensational escape from the prison cells of Edinburgh Castle through his life as a renegade and outlaw. Jan Westcott in The Border Lord has accomplished a magnificent achievement ― she has made the period of her story seem the most interesting and exciting in all Scottish history, the story itself the most thrilling of that era.