Killing for Justice

The book has its basis in an estate in industrial Scotland in the late 18thC. It is fiction and does not involve any actual historic figures (a few are mentioned in a purely peripheral manner) or locations. It is centred on a murder which occurs under very unusual circumstances. The illegitimate, and unrecognised, son of the estate is responsible, with the involvement of foreign owners of another large coal-based property. (Throughout, the story is based on the actual history of the times which the author has written on.) The next large section reveals his connection to money in Holland and his involvement with both the insurrection in that country and with a secret Scottish society of considerable age and commitment to deep changes in governance. The role of this society, and details of its actions, are a significant presence in all parts of the book. Another section comes from a romantic connection between this individual and a daughter of a nearby estate and how they meet in Paris,and are involved in the protest movements and the revolution there. Again the story is pure fiction but involves situations of historic accuracy. The last part of the book describes back in Scotland and the advance of real protest towards insurrection. The organisation of the local miners, plus other groups, etc, leads to a serious clash with the Dundas regime. Throughout the whole book there is a subsidiary plot associated with the mother of the central character and her struggle with authority, her simple banishment, and her attempts to help her son. Her name is Grise, a significant character in the whole plot. The above gives some indication of the background events and happenings, but the actual reading is much more about the emotional experiences of the several heroes and anti-heroes involved.