{"title":"Books by James Buchan","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9781914495106","title":"A Street Shaken by Light","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'An epic voyage well worth taking ... Exhilarating' Marianka Swain, \u003ci\u003eTelegraph\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eOne of Britain's outstanding historical writers delivers a romantic and picaresque masterpiece that tells the fascinating story of William Neilson. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn 1720, the young William Neilson leaves Edinburgh to make his fortune in Europe, first sailing to Rotterdam and then on foot to Paris, where he meets and is immediately employed by the banker John Law. A day later he is in the Bastille, but not before he has encountered a young woman of surpassing beauty to whom Neilson will be devoted for the rest of his life.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eImprisoned in the Bastille, he has no possibility of seeing or communicating with his beloved. When at last he recovers his freedom, he is despatched at once to sea, bound for the Indies. He will be shipwrecked, become an equerry on the Île-de-France, anon command a disorderly legion in Persia, become a linguist able to hold his own in diplomatic and mercantile circles, all the while anticipating a summons from the Stuart king in exile in Rome, until he is sent back to France, and thence to Scotland in the service of the Young Pretender.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThis is brilliant, irresistibly entertaining fiction. A whole world of adventure and romance comes alive in the hands of one of our most ingenious storytellers, one of our finest writers.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":57707522425205,"sku":"9781914495540","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Hardback","offer_id":43205736399026,"sku":"9781914495106","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781914495540.jpg?v=1793427940"},{"product_id":"9781800699038","title":"A Chalice Argent","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Delightful ... William Neilson continues to exhibit basically all of the virtues. He's brave, stoical, generous, truthful, constant, protective towards the weak and honourable to a fault. Yet entirely likeable. The nearest series to this I can think of is Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin cycle' Francis Spufford\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'One of our finest writers' John Burnside, The Times\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eNew Year's Eve, 1746 and William Neilson is on the move...\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWilliam Neilson is a Scottish soldier  and  a reluctant Jacobite agent. His mission is to transport an exquisite and precious jewel to the exiled James Stuart, King of England, Scotland and Ireland, now residing in Italy.  Before he leaves though, he has a more personal ambition - to see, for one last time, the woman he has loved for more than half his life.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs he travels from the wastes and marshes of the Sologne, to the disorderly houses and prisons of Venice and the desolate court-in-exile of the King in Rome, William Neilson meets adventure from sword fights to kidnappings, and love stories to music, while facing sinister threats to his life from those determined to thwart him at every turn. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFull of colour, and with rich and detailed research, the tales of William Nielson are hugely entertaining and a must for readers of swashbuckling fiction.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'An epic voyage well worth taking' \u003ci\u003eTelegraph\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'There is nothing quite like a James Buchan novel'\u003ci\u003e Financial Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWhat readers say about A STREET SHAKEN BY LIGHT, the first William Nielson novel:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'A tight and \u003cb\u003ebright romp of a read\u003c\/b\u003e' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'His \u003cb\u003erollicking romp\u003c\/b\u003e ranges widely across the world, taking in the \u003cb\u003eFrench Revolution, the Jacobite rebellion, love affairs, duels, general skullduggery\u003c\/b\u003e and much else besides, in prose \u003cb\u003eas elegant as it is witty' \u003c\/b\u003e⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54926482211189,"sku":"9781800699038","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781800699038_cf38b90a-7f7a-48b1-8f0c-79e7445cabfe.jpg?v=1786027006"},{"product_id":"9781800699168","title":"Our Lady of the Snows","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'An epic voyage well worth taking\u003c\/b\u003e' \u003ci\u003eTelegraph\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'\u003cb\u003eThere is nothing quite like a James Buchan novel\u003c\/b\u003e' \u003ci\u003eFinancial Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFrance, 1754. William and Jeanne Neilson, together at last, are living in the deep country and are happier than either ever expected to be. Their children, the foundling Marie-Ange and young William, are growing up. Jeanne devotes her mornings to scientific research while William has exchanged soldiering for agricultural improvement.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eYet both are restless. Jeanne, herself married to a poor Scotsman outlawed in Great Britain, is determined her adoptive daughter shall have a throne. Marie-Ange's grace and rich dowry have caught the eyes of princes all over Europe. But Marie-Ange's heart is firmly elsewhere.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWilliam, still haunted by the loss of his men at the battle of Culloden in 1746, dreams of one last fight to purge his shame.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThen war breaks out again with England, and the family is torn apart and scattered into the unknown.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePraise for \u003cb\u003eA CHALICE ARGENT\u003c\/b\u003e, the second William Neilson novel:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Delightful ... William Neilson continues to exhibit basically all of the virtues. He's brave, stoical, generous, truthful, constant, protective towards the weak and honourable to a fault. Yet entirely likeable. The nearest series to this I can think of is Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin cycle' Francis Spufford, winner of the Costa First novel award\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhat readers say about \u003cb\u003eA STREET SHAKEN BY LIGHT\u003c\/b\u003e, the first William Neilson novel:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'A tight and \u003cb\u003ebright romp of a read\u003c\/b\u003e' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'His \u003cb\u003erollicking romp\u003c\/b\u003e ranges widely across the world, taking in \u003cb\u003ethe French Revolution, the Jacobite rebellion, love affairs, duels, general skullduggery\u003c\/b\u003e and much else besides, in prose as elegant as it is witty' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":57685858386293,"sku":"9781035431168","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Hardback","offer_id":54926482342261,"sku":"9781800699168","price":20.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781035431168.jpg?v=1792599073"},{"product_id":"9781035425563","title":"The House of Widows","description":"'A concisely rich reading experience like no other . . . immensely, continuously exciting to boot. Highly, highly recommended' Francis Spufford'An epic voyage well worth taking' Telegraph'There is nothing quite like a James Buchan novel' Financial TimesAutumn, 1785. Two young boys, in the uniform of officer cadets of the Royal Military College, are standing outside the porter's gate of a house in the faubourg Saint-Germain of Paris.   One of the boys is William Neilson, the third of that name. The other is Napoléon Buonaparte. They are the best of friends.   As the monarchy in France disintegrates, the boys take different paths, one towards military success, supreme power and immortal fame, the other into shame, disgrace, imprisonment and misery.   They meet, twenty-seven years later, each at the limit of his strength, equals once again, beside a frozen river in Russia.   The gripping and adventure-packed new instalment of the story of the Neilsons, a Scottish family in French service, over five generations and four continents. 'Delightful . . . The nearest series to this I can think of is Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin cycle' Francis Spufford, winner of the Costa First novel award'A tight and bright romp of a read' ? ? ? ? ?'His rollicking romp ranges widely across the world, taking in the French Revolution, the Jacobite rebellion, love affairs, duels, general skullduggery and much else besides, in prose as elegant as it is witty' ? ? ? ? ?","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":57682838552949,"sku":"9781035425570","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Hardback","offer_id":55896503452021,"sku":"9781035425563","price":20.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781035425570_0981a898-1d60-4813-bd9d-0634f51c816e.jpg?v=1792511676"},{"product_id":"9781138326590","title":"Nurses Work","description":"\u003cp\u003eFirst published in 1998, this volume emerged in the context of rapidly developing nursing and health care fields and features contributions on areas in the NHS and private nursing including nurses’ pay and education, the gender balance in the nursing labour market, working patterns, employment contracts and turnover. It is part of a series of monographs offers up-to-date reports of recently completed research projects in the fields of nursing and health care. The aim of the series is to report studies that have relevance to contemporary nursing and health care practice. It includes reports of research into aspects of clinical nursing care, management and education. The series is of interest to all nurses and health care workers, researchers, managers and educators in the field.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56297408495989,"sku":"9781138326590","price":36.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781138326590_14b42580-50a8-4395-a7ca-958dabee4e86.jpg?v=1786018525"},{"product_id":"9781839830907","title":"Capital of the Mind","description":"In the early 18th century, Edinburgh was a filthy backwater town synonymous with poverty and disease. Yet by century's end, it had become the marvel of modern Europe, home to the finest minds of the day and their breathtaking innovations in architecture, politics, science, the arts, and economies - all of which continues to echo loudly today. Adam Smith penned \"The Wealth of Nations\". James Boswell produced \"The Life of Samuel Johnson\". Alongside them, pioneers such as David Hume, Robert Burns, James Hutton, and Sir Walter Scott transformed the way we understand our perceptions and feelings, sickness and health, relations between the sexes, the natural world, and the purpose of existence.James Buchan beautifully reconstructs the intimate geographic scale and boundless intellectual milieu of Enlightenment Edinburgh. With the scholarship of an historian and the elegance of a novelist, he tells the story of the triumph of this unlikely town and the men whose vision brought it into being.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56307986596213,"sku":"9781839830907","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781839830907_ea1092a9-1a83-4336-bb3d-046bfbdaee07.jpg?v=1786028050"},{"product_id":"9781848666085","title":"John Law","description":"\u003cp\u003eAt the summit of his power, John Law was the most famous man in Europe.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBorn in Scotland in 1671, he was convicted of murder in London and, after his escape from prison, fled Scotland for the mainland when Union with England brought with it a warrant for his arrest.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOn the continent he lurched from one money-making scheme to the next - selling insurance against losing lottery tickets in Holland, advising the Duke of Savoy - amassing a fortune of some £80,000.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut for his next trick he had grander ambitions. When Louis XIV died, leaving a thoroughly bankrupt France to his five-year-old heir, Law gained the ear of the Regent, Philippe D'Orleans. In the years that followed, Law's financial wizardry transformed the fortunes of France, enriching speculators and investors across the continent, and he was made Controller-General of Finances, effectively becoming the French Prime Minister.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut the fall from grace that was to follow was every bit as spectacular as his meteoric rise.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eJohn Law\u003c\/i\u003e, by a biographer of Adam Smith and the author of \u003ci\u003eFrozen Desire\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eCapital of the Mind\u003c\/i\u003e, dramatises the life of one of the most inventive financiers in history, a man who was born before his time and in whose day the word millionaire came to be coined.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56308475232629,"sku":"9781848666085","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781848666085_46b6a99b-4cb1-43f5-9003-81b8026ea634.jpg?v=1786029176"},{"product_id":"9781848540675","title":"Days of God","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Iranian Revolution of 1979 was a turning-point in modern history. The destruction of the Iranian monarchy not only upset the political order in the Middle East and brought on a quarter-century of warfare, but introduced a new way to look at history. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eDays of God\u003c\/i\u003e James Buchan lives each moment of the revolution through the eyes of ordinary people as he tries to answer his own troubling question: why did his friends, with their peculiar Iranian dreaminess and charm, act the way they did?\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56308598866293,"sku":"9781848540675","price":13.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781848540675_7e1818cd-c31c-4301-8f86-b6bbde435fa5.jpg?v=1786028973"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-james-buchan.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}