The Galloway Collection Series by S.R. Crockett, Cally Phillips

Extra content: Introduction. Biographical detail. Interactive links. “Mr Crockett has developed his tale of love and fighting with much skill and ingenuity. His tales are spun ‘straight from the reel.’ The love story and the tale of intrigue and bloodshed are developed with the skill of an old literary hand... moreExtra content: Introduction. Biographical detail. Interactive links. “Mr Crockett has developed his tale of love and fighting with much skill and ingenuity. His tales are spun ‘straight from the reel.’ The love story and the tale of intrigue and bloodshed are developed with the skill of an old literary hand. Not for a moment does the story sag or flag; the art of Mr Crockett carries the reader with ease and interest from page to page and although the book is a long one, it is without the slightest difficulty that one goes to the end, not skipping a single page or paragraph. The thing is closely knit.” In the sequel to The Black Douglas, the story is told as a confidential first person narrative by Margaret Douglas, remembering her life as a young woman. This unashamed fictionalisation of ‘The Maid of Galloway’ reveals a young, spoilt and petulant woman. The story thrives on excitement and adventure and charts the downfall of James II from an amusingly domestic point of view. The siege of Thrieve is wonderfully brought to life and interesting interpretations of the legendary cannon Mons Meg and events at the siege of Roxburgh thrill the reader till the final page. The Galloway Collection is a wholly new edited version of the works of S.R.Crockett, not a reprinted facsimile or a scanned copy. Ayton Publishing Limited is committed to achieving a high production standard at a reasonable price. The original conventions of punctuation and style have been kept where appropriate but each volume has been individually edited, typeset, proofed and produced to modern standards and includes an original introduction by series editor Cally Phillips. less

Extra content: Introduction, Biographical detail. Interactive links. ‘The Cherry Ribband ‘will satisfy his public. Mr Crockett has skilfully contrived to engage the reader’s interest all through, and one reviewer at least must plead guilty to having read ‘The Cherry Ribband’ at a single sitting, so vivid and varied is its handling of the period. 'The historic spirit is at work even amongst popular novelists... moreExtra content: Introduction, Biographical detail. Interactive links. ‘The Cherry Ribband ‘will satisfy his public. Mr Crockett has skilfully contrived to engage the reader’s interest all through, and one reviewer at least must plead guilty to having read ‘The Cherry Ribband’ at a single sitting, so vivid and varied is its handling of the period. 'The historic spirit is at work even amongst popular novelists. The setting is picaresque and there is one scene of real power: a lunatic traps the hero in his lonely house, ties him against the door and proceeds to make an outline-portrait of him with pistol-shots which follow the contour of his body without wounding him.' Originally serialised as ‘Peden the Prophet’ this is much less a story of religion and much more a story of love. We see how families were split in the Killing Times and the consequences of the opposition between King’s Men and Covenanters. The hero Raith Ellison and the heroine Ivie Rysland are both charming and compelling characters. The action moves from Galloway to the East Coast of Scotland with excellent descriptions of the coast and the Bass Rock Prison Island. History is ‘bent’ to serve the story but this only adds to the excitement of the adventure laden plot. The Galloway Collection is a wholly new edited version of the works of S.R.Crockett, not a reprinted facsimile or a scanned copy. Ayton Publishing Limited is committed to achieving a high production standard at a reasonable price. The original conventions of punctuation and style have been kept where appropriate but each volume has been individually edited, typeset, proofed and produced to modern standards and includes an original introduction by series editor Cally Phillips. less

Extra content: Introduction, Biographical detail. Interactive links. ‘'The Raiders ' vibrates with sufficient dramatic action for a dozen ordinary novels. We are swept breathlessly on from one exciting situation to another; while throughout the story runs a vein of heedlessness and reckless daring that intensifies the boldness of the effect... moreExtra content: Introduction, Biographical detail. Interactive links. ‘'The Raiders ' vibrates with sufficient dramatic action for a dozen ordinary novels. We are swept breathlessly on from one exciting situation to another; while throughout the story runs a vein of heedlessness and reckless daring that intensifies the boldness of the effect. Mr Crockett is himself a raider; far into the heart of the country of romance he penetrates, daring much, and proving his right and his might on its highways. He has written a story of really absorbing interest.’ The Raiders’ is Crockett’s best known novel and immerses the reader in a world of gypsies, smugglers and free traders. Set in early 18th Century Galloway, the young ‘bonnet laird’ Patrick Heron is an ‘ordinary’ hero who is driven to extraordinary acts very much in the Stevensonian tradition of adventure romance. Crockett uses history and adds the alchemy of the romancer to take natural description, historical events and local folklore and weave them into spellbinding stories. ‘The Raiders’ is a fine example of his skill and just as gripping a story today as it was a century ago. The Galloway Collection is a wholly new edited version of the works of S.R.Crockett, not a reprinted facsimile or a scanned copy. Ayton Publishing Limited is committed to achieving a high production standard at a reasonable price. The original conventions of punctuation and style have been kept where appropriate but each volume has been individually edited, typeset, proofed and produced to modern standards and includes an original introduction by series editor Cally Phillips. less