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By Frank R. Shaw, FSA Scot, Atlanta, GA, USA
jurascot@earthlink.net
A Book Review
LOVE AND HONOR
By
Randall Wallace
 Randall
Wallace is back! The author of Braveheart has given us
another Scottish hero. First, there was William Wallace played by Mel
Gibson. Now we have Kieran Selkirk, described as “a brilliant soldier and
a passionate patriot”. Kieran Selkirk is just as real as Gibson is in
Braveheart and destined, I believe, to become a big part of
Scottish lore. A movie is currently in the making.
The story begins in 1774 London with a secret
meeting between the young Virginian patriot, a peerless horseman, and a
bespectacled Benjamin Franklin, who convinces the young cavalry man to
make his way to Russia, win an audience with the Empress of Russia,
Catherine the Great, and convenience her not to send 20,000 Russian
soldiers to fight on behalf of the British while a young America is
struggling for independence. As Franklin describes the situation, “…the
fate of America rests in her hands.” Actually, the fate of America rests
in the hands of the young military man from the great state of Virginia,
Kieran Selkirk.
I’ve told you of the meeting between the old
Franklin and the young Selkirk, but I will not tell you how it ends nor
the story in between. I will not rob you of that personal pleasure. I will
tell you that the opening chapter is as Zhivagoian, if not more so, as
Doctor Zhivago itself. In Doctor Zhivago, you
heard the wolves and saw them in the moonlight at the winter house in the
Russian countryside…and they scattered with a thrown stick or two, and a
shout. In Love and Honor, it takes swords, a gun, and the
sacrificing of one big fat merchant to drive the wolves from the sleigh
before the hairs on your neck resume their rightful places!
You will cheer some of the characters like the
old chariot driver, Pyotr; the young chamber boy, Tikhon; Gorlov,
Selkirk’s Russian friend and mentor; and Beatrice, our hero’s love and
attendant to Princess Mitski. You will hiss the Princess Mitski, as you
will the evil Montrose and the scheming British envoy, Shettlefield. There
are others to hiss as well as cheer, and you will do so joyfully.
You will enjoy some inspiring moments like the
Russian proverb told by General Gorlov to his out-numbered troops as they
faced the feared and hated Cossacks: “When a man is born he will walk one
of three roads; there are no others. On the path to the left, the wolves
will eat him. On the path to the right, he will eat the wolves. On the
path down the middle, he will eat himself.” The mighty warrior then raised
his saber into the air and said: “I say to you, ‘Eat the wolves!’ ” His
men then charged!
One other moment I’d like to share with you is
on Christmas Day when Col. Selkirk says to his buddy Gorlov, speaking of
the Christmas miracle, “I ceased long ago to believe it, but wouldn’t it
be a miracle…a wonder beyond words…if it were really true that God
Almighty, God Himself, would on this night become such a creature as man,
if for no other reason than to touch his world? And…and maybe that is the
meaning of Christmas - that a Christian is someone who would find that
thought beautiful, and could believe it because of its very beauty, and
because it moved him?”
“Gorlov looked at me and smiled.”
I’ve read a lot of books in my life, mostly
history, many historical novels, and those described as “a novel” like
this one. I cannot recall reading a novel that held my attention any
better than Love and Honor. Hats off to Randall Wallace! I
usually read myself to sleep around one o’clock in the morning, and I
found myself going to bed a wee earlier last week to read a bit more of
the book. One afternoon I did the unthinkable for me and picked it up for
a couple of hours of enjoyment. One night I turned the television off to
read for an hour in the late evening quietness as the wood fire crackled
and spread its warmth, with a hot toddy near at hand. These are things I
do not normally do when reading a book, but I did them to finish
Love and Honor. It is that good! And, when I finally
finished it last night, I wished there was another chapter or two to read
and hoped that Randall Wallace would write a sequel concerning the brave
young soldier form William and Mary College.
Did I tell you I’ve read it twice? Last
spring, I received the book from Jill Rytie in manuscript form prior to
its publishing. Jill is Coordinator of Production and Development of The
Wheelhouse, the author’s company that tracks his books, screenplays and
movies. Jill is the one who, in the author’s own words, was “stalwart in
managing the mechanics of this manuscript and the madness of life.”
Because of previous commitments to other
authors, I had to delay reviewing this book until now. Last week I picked
up a copy at my favorite Barnes and Noble. This week I’m forwarding the
review to The Family Tree’s site on
www.electricscotland.com.
It’s a great story, and the review has been too long in the making!
Of the nearly 4,000 Scottish books in my
library, I will proudly put this book on the top shelf and recommend it to
my reading friends, both men and women. It has enough spectacular fighting
and adventure to hold the attention of any Scotsman worth a dram, and it
is romantically inclined for any woman to enjoy. Ask your bookseller for
it - ISBN 0-7432-6519-X. It will be a book you will recommend to your
friends. I told Susan, my wife, just yesterday when she picked it up from
my desk “You will enjoy that book, and so will your friends!” I normally
know better than to do that with her! (FRS: 3-8-05) |
