The Great Feud

The Great Feud

Review Lively ancestral adventure . . . -- Publishers Weekly, May 29, 2000 This is an account of the rivalry and sometimes-bloody conflict between two families from the west coast of Scotland, the Campbells and the McDonalds. Starting with the violent death of the Campbell chief in 1297, the feud then went on for 450 years in Scotland and Northern Ireland with numerous cullings and clashings inflicted by both sides, amongst which the incident at Glencoe just happens to be the best publicized. Despite the mutual antipathy, both families continued to grow, to scatter over the world and to produce a large number of talented descendants including two British Prime Ministers (Campbell Bannerman and Ramsay MacDonald) and the first Canadian Prime Minister. The second half of the book charts this more peaceful period after 1745 when large numbers of both clans spread rapidly around the world: transported as criminals, evicted in clearances, or simply seeking their fortune in peace or war. From Publishers Weekly Although family feuds can take on lives of their own, rarely are they as long and treacherous as the rivalry between the Scottish clans, the Campbells and the MacDonalds. This lively ancestral adventure begins with a single ambush of a Campbell chief, Sir Colin Campbell, in 1296 by Lame John MacDougall (whose clan was closely allied with the MacDonalds), and spans nearly 450 years across the globe. The opposing clans were stalwart military and political powers, one side supporting the reigning royalty while the other opposed it. Thomson's enthusiasm shows in accounts of battles, such as the infamous Massacre of Glencoe and the 1745 Jacobite rebellionAthe latter resulting in such severe casualties that the two clans' power was finally broken. Thomson also tells colorful tales of individual acts of heroism and scandal. There is Flora MacDonaldAwho aided in the escape of Prince Charles following the devastating Battle of Culloden in 1746 by having him dress as her maidAand Alastair Ruadh MacDonell, a captain in the French Scots Brigade, who was accused after his death in 1761 of being the English spy known as Pickle. In the final section, Thomson follows the Campbells and the MacDonalds as they leave Scotland, and discovers descendants of the two clans emerging as heads of state, artists, poets, soldiers, criminals, sports figures and even the entrepreneurs who began McDonald's fast food chain and the Campbell Soup Company. 16 b&w illus. Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.