The Appin Murder

The Appin Murder—The Killing That Shook a Nation

One killing that divided Scotland and changed the course of history

About the Ebook

On a hillside near Ballachulish in the Scottish Highlands in May 1752 a rider is assassinated by a gunman. The murdered man is Colin Campbell, a government agent travelling to nearby Duror where he's evicting farm tenants to make way for his relatives. Campbell's killer evades capture, but Britain's rulers insist this challenge to their authority must result in a hanging. The sacrificial victim is James Stewart, who is organising resistance to Campbell's takeover of lands long held by his clan, the Appin Stewarts.

James is a veteran of the Highland uprising crushed in April 1746 at Culloden. In Duror he sees homes torched by troops using terror tactics against rebel Highlanders. The same brutal response to dissent means that James's corpse will for years hang from a towering gibbet and leave a community utterly ravaged.

Introducing this new and updated edition of his account of what came to be called the Appin Murder, historian James Hunter tells how his own Duror upbringing introduced him to the tragic story of James Stewart.

Why You'll Love This Ebook

• Uncover the mystery and intrigue surrounding Scotland's most infamous crime
• Discover how one murder shook a nation and influenced future events
• Explore the political and personal motivations behind historical violence
• Read another celebrated title from Birlinn Ltd - Independent Scottish Publisher

Reviews

'Hunter has left no stone unturned in his research — he infuses his writing with a sense of urgency that drives the reader towards the tragic, foregone conclusion' Dundee Courier, Book of the Week

About the Author

James Hunter is Emeritus Professor of History at the University of the Highlands and Islands. He has written extensively about the north of Scotland and about the region’s worldwide diaspora. In the course of a varied career Hunter has been, among other things, director of the Scottish Crofters Union, chairman of Highlands and Islands Enterprise and an award-winning journalist. His book Set Adrift upon the World (Birlinn 2016) was Saltire History Book of the Year in 2016.

Publication Details

Publisher: Birlinn Ltd

Publication Date: 01 July 2021

Print Length: 320 pages (Ebook edition)

ISBN (Ebook): 9781788853224

Format: Ebook

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