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My Truth Lies in the Ruins

, FSAScot

Published by
Hardiford Publishing Co.
P.O. Box 520186
Winthrop by the Sea, MA 02152
Tel: 617-846-1692

A review (©, 2006) by the author Dr. Deborah Richmond Foulkes, FSA Scot
Original Copyright by , FSAScot.  Used by permission of the author.  All rights reserved.  This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission of the author.

My Truth Lies in the Ruins is the well researched true story of the Douglases during the Scottish Wars for National Independence.  The central figure of the book is William le Hardi Douglas, Lord Douglas; a Crusader knight, a man of core values he was the first nobleman to join with William Wallace in rebellion.  Le Hardi paid for his defiant patriotism with his life; his suffered his martyred end in deep sorrow, diminished to poverty and executed in the Tower of London in 1298.

Drawing praise for the extensive research behind the tale, My Truth Lies in the Ruins is historical fiction where only the conversations were imagined.  Set amidst enchanting, mist swept moors of the Lowlands and the shrouded, mystical hills of the Scottish Highlands, the storyline follows closely a tale told in surviving documents and contemporary chronicles; doughty Scots brought to life in the remarkable times in which they lived, fighting forÉFreedom!

William le Hardi Douglas was a self described poet knight; the Lord of Douglas living a fairytale existence; sharing a timeless love affair with his second wife Eleanora of Lovaine when Edward invaded Scotland in 1296.  Le Hardi had met the young Essex widow in 1288 and rescued the lady from the grasp of Edward Plantagenet; kidnapping her from Fa'side Castle to marry her at Kelso Abbey without the king's license.  When le Hardi was later arrested on charges of treason in 1297 and taken to London for imprisonment in the White Tower, it was Lady Eleanora Lovaine Douglas, a stalwart woman for all times who fought back; bringing their family through those perilous times as she successfully petitioned for her lands and returned to Essex with her children to be near her husband in his remaining days.

The story winds its way through spellbinding intrigue; political treachery and revenge where the lovers are estranged thorough others' lies and deceit only to be reunited one final time; an emotional scene that the readers will long remember when Lord and Lady Douglas rediscover their love, just days before his execution.  Lord Douglas left his widow Eleanora of Lovaine with a legacy of truth and a death-bed pledge.  This modern woman in the 13th century fulfilled her promise to her loving husband; educated their surviving sons and returned them to Scotland to fight the English invaders.  Three Douglas sons joined with Robert the Brus; completing their father's unfinished work as they drove Edward out of Scotland; their story told in the sequel, In the Shadow of My Truth.

My Truth Lies in the Ruins is the first volume of the Douglas Trilogy.  With each turn of the page the author brings those adventurous times to life.  The reader becomes emotionally involved with the characters; getting to know each one on an intimate basis, how they lived and loved during those frightening times.  Every location is filmed; providing visual portraits of over two hundred-fifty images for the volume that also includes a Glossary, Who's Who, and maps of Scotland and England noting sites from the 13th century.  My Truth Lies in the Ruins is a great love story and chronicle of the Scottish Wars for National Independence that leaves the reader desiring more; historical fiction at its best.

Paperback: 464 pages
Price, US (Amazon): $22.95
Order securely on-line.

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