Graham Simpson, author of this book, Edinburgh born, but from a family whose forebears suffered from the infamous 'Highland Clearances, having being forced to either starve or emigrate, became fishermen in the dangerous, coastal waters giving me license to, research and develop this book with a 'What If' premise that, had there been enough smart, audacious young men and women to challenge the status quo, Scotland would not be what it is today...the northern rump of England, resource- rich with skilled labour. but essentially a colonial property. Here, my story starts and to give added 'Scots Aura' to the tale, I changed the family name to Fraser, both belonging the Fraser Clan.
Having tracked family 'heritors' from the 1750's with records of birth, marriage and death, even street addresses and occupations. I began to research what sort of life my people had lived. It was generally, hard and cruel. There were few human rights, and none but the gentry could vote nor run for public office. With Scotland, constantly under attack by English armies, often aided by the local gentry, until the final, tragic defeat of 1746 at Culloden, where even our bravest warriors could not defeat cannonade with only claymore and shield.
