14 h 3 minAudiobook8 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What does loyalty cost when war reaches your glen and love draws you beyond your clan?
In Neil Munro’s John Splendid, civil war spills into the Scottish Highlands of the 1640s. Elrigmore, a quiet gentleman of small means, tells of his friendship with John Splendid, a Campbell soldier home from foreign wars. Brave, generous and full of fine speeches, John holds fast to his chief as clan loyalties draw both men toward conflict.
Around Inveraray and Lorn, lochs, hills and weather shape daily life. Montrose gathers an army, bringing the wider struggle between King and Parliament into the glens. Meanwhile, Elrigmore falls for Betty Haig, a young Lowland woman who helps him see his own world from outside. Duty and love pull at him in different directions.
What you’ll discover
- A soldier worth knowing Meet John Splendid through his tall tales, generous heart and fierce loyalty to his chief.
- War close to home Follow marches, quarrels and jokes as the conflict reaches the people of Lorn.
- Love across a divide Watch Betty Haig draw Elrigmore toward a life beyond the familiar claims of clan.
- A landscape with presence Enter a Highland world where lochs, hills and small towns shape each choice.
- Memories told with warmth Hear Elrigmore reflect on friendship, honor and fighting with calm, humor and affection.
Who will love it
For readers who enjoy historical fiction with a strong sense of place, and anyone curious about Scottish history, clan life and the wars of the 1640s. Friendship, divided loyalties and love across Highland and Lowland worlds bring the history to life.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Lorn and Inveraray on the edge of war
- John Splendid, a poor gentleman with a large heart
- A Lowland sweetheart and a divided heart
- War reaches the glens
- Loyalty, change and the cost of fighting
- A Highland voice, humor and landscape
Who’s who
- John SplendidA Campbell soldier of fortune, back from foreign wars, brave, generous and fond of a tall tale, who stays loyal to his chief.
- The narrator, ElrigmoreA quiet Highland gentleman of small means who tells the story years later and is pulled between duty to his clan and his own heart.
- Betty HaigA young Lowland woman whose arrival in Highland life draws the narrator's love and shows him his own world from the outside.
- The Earl of ArgyllThe great Campbell chief at Inveraray, whose power and cause draw the clan into the wider war.
- MontroseThe royalist commander who raises an army in Scotland and brings the civil war into the Highlands.
- Alasdair MacCollaA fierce Highland and Irish fighter on Montrose's side, feared by the Campbells as an enemy of their clan.
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- Audiobook
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- 15-minute summary
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- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
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John der Prächtige
by Neil Munro · 1898
A Highland gentleman faces war in the glens, torn between duty to his clan and love for a Lowland woman.
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In short
John Splendid is a historical novel by Neil Munro, a Highland writer born in Inveraray, the little town on Loch Fyne that serves as the heart of the Campbell country. It appeared in 1898 and carries the longer title The Tale of a Poor Gentleman and the Little Wars of Lorn.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Lorn and Inveraray on the edge of war
The story opens in the country of Lorn, in the western Highlands, where the Campbells under the Earl of Argyll hold the land around Inveraray. Munro knew this country from childhood, and he writes about its lochs, hills, weather and small towns as if each were a character. The time is the 1640s, when Scotland is torn by the quarrel between the King and his opponents.
In the Highlands that national quarrel is tangled up with older clan feuds. A man might fight for a king he hardly knows because he hates the neighbor on the other side. Another man might stand with Argyll because his people have always done so. The title speaks of the little wars of Lorn, and that phrase shows Munro's aim. He is less interested in grand strategy than in how a great conflict looks to people whose lives are tied to a few glens.
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What is John Splendid about?
It follows a Highland gentleman and his boastful soldier friend, John Splendid, during the clan wars of the 1640s in Lorn. It mixes war, friendship and a love story set against the real conflict between Montrose and Argyll.
Who wrote John Splendid and when?
Neil Munro wrote it, and it was published in 1898. Munro was born in Inveraray, the Campbell town at the center of the story, so he wrote about a place he knew from childhood.
Is John Splendid a true story?
No, John Splendid and his friends are invented. But the setting is real. The book draws on the Scottish civil wars of the 1640s and on historical figures such as Montrose and the Earl of Argyll.
The author
Neil Munro
1863–1930 · Scottish novelist and journalist
Scottish journalist, author, critic 1864-1930.
More by Neil Munro
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