The Steel Bonnets: Story of the Anglo-Scottish Border Reivers

If you have read any of George MacDonald Fraser's Flashman books, you'll know that he can spin a brilliant yarn. That magic touch is more than apparent here. The Steel Bonnets reads like a fast-paced adventure novel, revealing the border lands between England and Scotland in the sixteenth century as a British Wild West, but the facts and analysis come thick and fast and never cease to fascinate. Just brilliant.

gripping (14/15 people found this helpful)

I'm biased about this book because I'm from the borders and the Graham family, which I belong to, were one of the families most involved in the dirty deals and goings on in the area. This book shows what life was like on the borders between England and Scotland, and informs us that blackmail and greenmail and bereave were words that sprang out of the slaughter and disorder. The wrongdoers can also be seen as victims, driven to desperation through the constant warring of the rival kingdoms and stuck in the middle. Yhe trouble is that the theiving and deception that the locals resorted to in times of war became a habit that was difficult to break.

Nutters (17/22 people found this helpful)

Man! what a book! They're all stark raving bonkers. Being an englishman you hear these strange tales of the borders, about Scottish thugs stealing, looting, killing, and a-raping the poor, humble, and hard working English (while being incredibly drunk). Well that's the stereotype and... to an extent, according to this book it's true! But what this book also adds is the total and utter ambiguity of both sides of the border. It is like someone has stuck a huge great mirror on the border. So much for the wee oppressed english peasants and so much for country loyalties. This gives a more realistic view beyond the english ideals of the south and the romanticsm of the Border Ballads, (and shows what a bunch of nutters the Borderers where). This book is fascinating and it is easily accessible. The language flows and doesn't get bogged down in academic twaddle. It sifts through all the difficult points and re-inforces that life is not black and white. Well I think so anyway. It's a good interesting book

RIVETING (18/20 people found this helpful)

The author vividly describes these very violent times in a way which leaves the reader wanting more. Before or after reading the book you are strongly advised to visit the Borders and savour the atmosphere . I suggest you chose a time when the weather is not too kind and the book will 'come to life'. I think that a TV Company could make a riveting documentary based on The Steel Bonnets.

An excellent account of the Border Reivers and their times. (16/17 people found this helpful)

This book is highly entertaining. George MacDonald Fraser successfully relates the life and times of the Border Reivers in a way which had me laughing one minute and horrified the next. One could make a comparison between the Borders of Scotland and England and the American Wild West or indeed the Sicilian Mafia. Reading this book has really opened my eyes to a phenomenon of the past which is still present at many frontiers all around the world.

The Steel Bonnets: Story of the Anglo-Scottish Border Reivers

George MacDonald Fraser

Reader Reviews:

Wild Borders Cowboys (4/4 people found this helpful)

gripping (14/15 people found this helpful)

Nutters (17/22 people found this helpful)

RIVETING (18/20 people found this helpful)

An excellent account of the Border Reivers and their times. (16/17 people found this helpful)

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