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Home / Series / The Black Douglas Trilogy

Series

The Black Douglas Trilogy

The Black Douglas sequence follows the struggle for Scottish independence through Andrew Moray and James Douglas. The prequel Freedom’s Sword traces Moray’s rebellion against Edward I and his partnership with William Wallace, while the trilogy proper begins with the young James Douglas joining Robert the Bruce after the collapse of organised resistance.

From guerrilla attacks and the recovery of Douglas lands to Bannockburn and the campaigns that forced England towards peace, the books portray the making of the warrior remembered as the Good Sir James and feared as the Black Douglas. Military action is joined to questions of vengeance, love and the destruction demanded by a prolonged war of liberation.

Reading order

Books in this series (4 books)

Freedom’s Sword cover

#0.5 – Freedom’s Sword

J.R. Tomlin

Scotland, 1296. Newly knighted Andrew Moray joins the army resisting Edward I’s invasion, only to be captured after the Scottish defeat and carried to an English prison. His escape returns him to a northern country occupied by English garrisons, with his family’s lands seized and his…

A Kingdom’s Cost cover

#1 – A Kingdom’s Cost

J.R. Tomlin

Scotland, 1305–1307. The execution of William Wallace and the death of his father leave the young James Douglas without land or protection under English rule. Refused the restoration of his inheritance, he commits himself to Robert the Bruce, whose seizure of the crown begins a desperate…

Countenance of War cover

#2 – Countenance of War

J.R. Tomlin

James Douglas continues the campaign to drive English forces from Scotland and recover the lordship taken from his family. Raids, castle attacks and scorched-earth tactics make him indispensable to Robert the Bruce and increasingly notorious among the English as the Black Douglas. Edward II responds with…

Not for Glory cover

#3 – Not for Glory

J.R. Tomlin

At Bannockburn in 1314, James Douglas commands part of the Scottish army that breaks Edward II’s invasion and secures Robert the Bruce’s hold over the kingdom. Victory brings him honour at home and a reputation that inspires fear across the border, but it does not bring…