The Strongest Heart

Set in the late 14th and early 15th centuries, this is the story of Donald Macdonald, Lord of the Isles, the grandson of both Angus Og Macdonald, whose story is told in book 2, and King Robert II. Donald was a man strong of faith, character and heart who would lead the clan into battle before seeing the Kingdom of the Isles destroyed by an ambitious man who would be king.

In the late 14th century, the Kingdom of the Isles was under assault from the ambitious Albany Stewarts, who were taking advantage of Scotland’s empty throne to increase their power. Jealous of the Macdonald lordship to the west, the ruthless Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany, thwarted Donald, Lord of the Isles, at every turn.
 
A man of keen intelligence and strategy, educated at Oxford and a frequent guest of England’s kings, Donald did not intend to allow a traitorous royal thug to rob him of his legacy. The Earldom of Ross was the buffer he needed to keep the Isles safe. Not unmindful of all that was at stake, he took as his bride Mariota Leslie, heiress to the Earldom of Ross.
 
What he could not achieve through diplomacy or marriage, Donald was prepared to claim by right of the sword. In the greatest battle Scotland has ever seen, he would demonstrate the power of the Isles to become the Hero of Harlaw.

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