12 h 12 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 12 h 12 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What do soldiers carry from home besides their weapons? For the Black Watch, Highland tales and loyalties travel into war.
In Legends of the Black Watch; Or, Forty-Second Highlanders, James Grant follows Highland soldiers through camp, march and battle. Their story begins in Scotland’s glens, where local companies keep order and watch for raids. As the regiment moves abroad, the habits and memories of Highland life remain close.
Grant brings together regimental history, camp memories and old Highland lore in a lively collection of tales. Campaigns lead through Europe, North America and Egypt, while courage and loyalty bind the men together. His tone is openly admiring: he writes to honour these soldiers and preserve their memory, rather than offer a detached account of war.
What you’ll discover
- Roots in the glens Explore the Highland beginnings of companies raised to watch for raiding and trouble.
- Tales carried from home Discover how old Highland lore travels abroad alongside the men who cherish it.
- Camp, march and battle Follow the regiment through scenes that bring its shared life into view.
- Campaigns across distant lands Trace the Black Watch through wars in Europe, North America and Egypt.
- Loyalty worth remembering Meet soldiers through Grant’s warm regard for their courage, bonds and Highland identity.
Who will love it
You will enjoy this book if you love Highland history, ghost stories told by firelight, military adventure and doomed romance. It suits anyone who likes clan legends.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A dream and a storm shadow Farquhar Shaw
- Seven grenadiers and a warning about fasting
- A fan in a hat decides a lover's winter
- A rescued child and a siege on Lake George
- A haunted castle and the Wife of the Red Comyn
- A Jacobite exile rides with the Gray Mousquetaires
- Lieutenant Adam White leaves Lucy for America
- Captain Grant scouts behind the French lines
- Dick Duff jokes through the retreat from Burgos
- A stranger at the fire in the Forest of Gaich
Who’s who
- Farquhar ShawA gentleman private from Lochaber, strong and proud, who marches to join his regiment while a frightening dream follows him.
- Old MacleanWhite-bearded captain of grenadiers who fights beside seven tall sons and tells the legend of an ancestor who forgot to eat.
- Louis ChartersA faithful officer of Montgomery's Highlanders who wants only to return from America and marry Emmy Stuart.
- Roderick MacGillivrayA former Jacobite captain now serving in the Black Watch, who protects his wife and fights at Fort William Henry.
- Mary MacGillivrayHis gentle wife, a granddaughter of the chieftain of Glencoe, whose kindness to a wounded Iroquois has unexpected results.
- Adam WhiteA dashing captain who fights at Ticonderoga and longs to return to his beloved Lucy Fleming.
- Colquhoun GrantA Highland scout who watches Marshal Marmont's army in his own uniform and relies on Spanish friends.
- Evan MacPhersonCaptain Dhu, a reckless, dark-haired officer who leads Strathspey men through the Forest of Gaich and is thought to have made a bargain.
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Leggende della Guardia Nera; ovvero, i Quarantaduesimi Highlanders
by James Grant · 1859
A soldier's hound limps back dying from a fight with a storm-night hag in a Lochaber hut.
Challenging10–20 hours to readItaliano
Excellent
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In short
Picture a lone soldier in a turf hut on a stormy Lochaber mountainside. A little old woman eats his supper, then grows taller every minute, until his great hound rushes at her and comes back mangled and dying.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A dream and a storm shadow Farquhar Shaw
The first tale begins when six independent companies are raised along the Highland Border to stop cattle raiding. The men are gentlemen and younger sons. Among them is Farquhar Shaw, a private from Lochaber, a master swordsman and a deadly shot.
Farquhar is left on the sick list with a wound while his comrades gather as one regiment. Rumour says he has lost heart, and stung by shame he sets out over the mountains with his sword and his great hound Bran. A storm drives him into a turf shieling, where he dreams of three condemned men in coffins. When a plaid falls from one prisoner's face, he sees his own.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1859
- Language
- Italiano
- Reading time
- 7 h 55 min
- Level
- Challenging
Cite this edition
Grant, James. Legends of the Black Watch; Or, Forty-Second Highlanders. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/legends-of-the-black-watch-or-forty-second-highlanders.
Grant, J. (2026). Legends of the Black Watch; or, Forty-Second Highlanders. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/legends-of-the-black-watch-or-forty-second-highlanders (Original work published 1859)
Grant, James. Legends of the Black Watch; Or, Forty-Second Highlanders. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/legends-of-the-black-watch-or-forty-second-highlanders.
@book{grant2026legends,
author = {Grant, James},
title = {Legends of the Black Watch; Or, Forty-Second Highlanders},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/legends-of-the-black-watch-or-forty-second-highlanders},
note = {First published 1859}
}
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What is Legends of the Black Watch about?
It is a set of ten stories about the 42nd Highlanders, the Black Watch. They follow soldiers and their loved ones through real campaigns, from Fontenoy and Ticonderoga to the Peninsular War, with ghosts, omens and Highland legends woven in.
Is Legends of the Black Watch a true story?
It mixes fact and fiction. James Grant uses real battles, officers and regimental records, and he adds invented characters and Highland superstitions. It was published in 1859, and each chapter stands as its own tale.
What does Reicudan Dhu mean?
Reicudan Dhu is the Gaelic name for the Black Watch, the dark-tartaned companies first raised in 1729 to guard the Highland Border. The book uses it for the regiment that became the 42nd Royal Highland Regiment.
The author
James Grant
1822–1887 · Scottish historical novelist
James Grant was a Scottish novelist born in Edinburgh in 1822. He wrote historical novels and books about military history. His first novel, The Romance of War, appeared in 1845. His other novels included Jane Seton and Under the Red Dragon. He died in London in 1887.
More by James Grant
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