The Reivers: The Story of the Border Reivers

As a borderer born and raised in Annandale I found this book disappointing. Written by somone who worked in television it bears all the hallmarks of that medium's 'drama-documentary' genre. I didn't doubt that the central thrust was valid, but would have liked to see footnoted or end-noted references. The author's assertion that this would amount to showing off is unconvincing, and merely listing a bibliography isn't good enough. There must be a better account of this turbulent period!

Wonderful popular history... (2/2 people found this helpful)

I found this book at Melrose Abbey on a recent trip to the UK and discovered hours of fun reading. Moffat's style is like talking to a favorite uncle who shares delicious family secrets through his recollection of the period, complete with humor and a bit of honest sarcasm. He makes the history of the Anglo/Scottish Borders and the lives of the Border Reivers come alive. This is wonderful social history, presented in a way that appeals to the larger public audience. I have recommended this book to many American Romance authors who are looking for a great research source on the culture of the Borders, be it the English or Scottish Marches. This is a great companion piece to his THE BORDERS book: same style and presentation. Both should be read and savored for their honest and witty presentation without being too scholarly.

Good book but not much new material (2/2 people found this helpful)

While this book has its own style and brings a new angle to an old topic, it doesn't offer much new material and covers a lot of ground already covered in Moffat's other book "The Borders". I still enjoyed it but would always rate "The Steel Bonnets" higher.

Mindless appaling slaughter (4/4 people found this helpful)

This is a marvellous book, which deals with one of the most contentious periods in British history. For almost 300 years from the time of Edward 1st until the Union of the Crowns under James 1st in 1603, the border region between England and Scotland was little more than a bloodbath, in which it was said that on waking in the morning, the first thing people did was touch the fingers to the throat, to make sure that it had not been slit overnight.

This appalling gratuitous violence, is brought to life brilliantly in this book, in which the violence reaches such a peak in the middle of the 16 century, that it is a wonder there was any border to pacify. Witness the slaying of a fugitive in York, or the genocide carried out by the Johnston's against the Maxwell's in which some 700 Maxwell's were wiped out in a single afternoon, with the blood apparently running through the streets of Lockerbie.

The remarkable thing is that all this actually happened. It is not a figment of a writers imagination. The text is very easy to read, and the pictures are very evocative. If you only ever buy one book on the Reivers, buy this

A brilliant read on a fascinating period (8/9 people found this helpful)

I've long been a fan of MacDonald Fraser's 'Steel Bonnets' so I was interested to see what Alistair Moffat's book would add.

The hardback is just over 320 pages, grouped into two main parts, four chapters in the first, and three in the second. Add to this five appendices, the bibliography and a concise and easy to use index, there's a lot here to immerse yourself in. And in the centre of the book you have the illustrations, thirty-two superb colour photographs of the landscapes of the Borders that do so much to evoke the mood of the era. They compliment the text admirably.

As you cruise through the book you often have additional box inserts that take the reader off into interesting sidelines of yet more fascinating information. There are just to many to mention, and all add to the flavour that the author provides the reader, with his view of the troubled times of the sixteenth century.

I have to say that from start to finish, I couldn't put this book down. It adds to MacDonald Fraser's work and is a 'must-have' for anyone interested in the hardy doughty folk of the Border, their lawless ways and customs, the feuds and the politics that shaped their life. An inspiring read.

The Reivers: The Story of the Border Reivers

Alistair Moffat

Reader Reviews:

'Faction', not convincingly researched history? (2/3 people found this helpful)

Wonderful popular history... (2/2 people found this helpful)

Good book but not much new material (2/2 people found this helpful)

Mindless appaling slaughter (4/4 people found this helpful)

A brilliant read on a fascinating period (8/9 people found this helpful)

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