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J.R. Tomlin

25 fiction

J. R. Tomlin is an American historical novelist whose work is centred predominantly on medieval Scotland. She has strong personal ties to the country: her father was Scottish, she spent part of her youth in Edinburgh, and her interest in Scottish history began with childhood stories about Robert the Bruce and Sir James Douglas. Tomlin has cited Alexandre Dumas, Victor Hugo, Walter Scott and J. R. R. Tolkien among her literary influences. She now lives in Oregon and has produced an extensive body of Scottish historical fiction characterised by political intrigue, warfare, divided loyalties and detailed recreations of medieval life.

Her best-known books include the Black Douglas Trilogy—A Kingdom’s Cost, Countenance of War and Not for Glory—which follows James Douglas during Robert the Bruce’s struggle for Scottish independence. Freedom’s Sword serves as a related prequel and tells the story of Andrew de Moray and the resistance to Edward I’s occupation of Scotland. Tomlin has also written the Stewart Chronicles, the Son of Scotland novels and the historical Sir Law Kintour Mysteries. Her fiction generally combines documented battles, rulers and political crises with imagined personal relationships, making her particularly suitable for readers of Nigel Tranter, Sharon Kay Penman and other authors of strongly researched medieval historical fiction.

Periods and events

Anglo-Scottish Border Warfare1296–1603 Battle of Bannockburn1314 CE Battle of Stirling Bridge1297 CE Crusader States1098–1291 CE Reign of James I of Scotland1424–1437 CE Wars of Scottish Independence1296–1357 CE

Historical fiction

Historical fiction series by J.R. Tomlin (6 series)

William the Bold in Order

by J.R. Tomlin 2 books 4.4(123)

The William the Bold series follows the early career of William Douglas, later remembered as William the Hardy. As a sixteen-year-old squire in 1263, he faces the Norwegian invasion at Largs and discovers that courage in battle bears little resemblance to the glory imagined by an untested youth.…

Son of Scotland in Order

by J.R. Tomlin 4 books 4.3(3,402)

The Son of Scotland series recounts the career of Thomas Randolph, nephew and close lieutenant of Robert the Bruce. Beginning with his divided allegiance at the start of Bruce’s kingship, the novels follow Randolph from capture at Methven through the reconquest of Scotland, Bannockburn, the Irish campaign and…

The Black Douglas Trilogy in Order

by J.R. Tomlin 4 books 4.2(10,947)

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…

Archibald the Grim Series in Order

by J.R. Tomlin 5 books 4.2(3,930)

The Archibald the Grim novels follow Archibald Douglas, the illegitimate son of James ‘the Black’ Douglas, from an uncertain childhood during the Second War of Scottish Independence to his emergence as one of the most formidable magnates of fourteenth-century Scotland. Raised amid exile, invasion and disputed loyalties, Archibald…

The Stewart Chronicle in Order

by J.R. Tomlin 4 books 4.1(6,780)

The Stewart Chronicle dramatises the reigns of James I and James II of Scotland. The opening books follow Prince James from his capture by the English in 1406 through years at the courts of Henry IV and Henry V, his marriage to Joan Beaufort, and his difficult return…

The Sir Law Kintour Series in Order

by J.R. Tomlin 5 books 3.9(9,269)

The Sir Law Kintour mysteries are set in Scotland after James I returned from eighteen years of English captivity. Wounded, landless and short of money, Sir Law Kintour takes investigative work in Perth, where murder is entangled with merchant rivalry, royal administration and the unsettled politics of the…

Historical fiction

Standalone historical fiction by J.R. Tomlin (1 book)

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