Insurrection

by Robyn Young Book 1 in the Insurrection Trilogy series.

First published 2010

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4.0(2,538)

The novel opens in 1286 with the death of Alexander III and recasts the fatal royal journey as part of a conspiracy serving Edward I’s ambition to rule a united Britain. Scotland’s disputed succession brings the Bruce and Balliol families into competition, while English arbitration gradually becomes political control. Robert Bruce grows from an uncertain noble heir into a man who understands that every claim to the crown demands alliances, compromises and betrayals.

As Edward’s armies impose their authority and Scottish resistance gathers around William Wallace, Robert is pulled between service to the English king, loyalty to his family and the possibility of an independent Scotland. Young combines the documented succession struggle and the opening of the Wars of Scottish Independence with a fictional search for the relics of an Arthurian prophecy. The result concentrates on the difficult formation of Bruce’s political identity rather than presenting him as a finished national hero.