Nigel Tranter (November 23, 1909 – January 9, 2000) was a Scottish historian and author. November 23 is the 327th day of the year (328th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 38 days remaining. ... 1909 (MCMIX) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... January 9 is the 9th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year 2000. ... Motto: (Latin for No one provokes me with impunity)1 Anthem: Multiple unofficial anthems Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow Official language(s) English, Gaelic, Scots2 Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen of the UK Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister of the UK Tony Blair MP  - First Minister Jack McConnell MSP Unification    - by... A historian is someone who writes history, and history is a written accounting of the past. ... An author is the person who creates a written work, such as a book, story, article or the like. ...

Early life

Nigel Tranter was born in Glasgow and educated at George Heriot's School in Edinburgh. He trained as an accountant and worked in Scottish National Insurance Company, founded by his uncle. In 1933 he married May Jean Campbell Grieve and had two children, Frances May and Philip. He joined the Royal Artillery and served in East Anglia in the Second World War. For other uses, see Glasgow (disambiguation). ... George Heriots School is an independent primary and secondary school on Lauriston Place in Edinburgh, Scotland, with around 1500 pupils. ... Edinburgh (pronounced ; Dùn Èideann () in Scottish Gaelic) is the capital of Scotland and its second-largest city. ... RGA redirects here. ... Norfolk and Suffolk, the core area of East Anglia. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ...

Writings

From his childhood onwards, he took a great interest in castles and their associated history. As a result, in 1935, at age 25, he published his first book, The Fortalices and Early Mansions of Southern Scotland. Prompted on by his wife, he wrote his first novel, In our Arms our Fortune, which was rejected by the publishers. For the first novel that was published, Trespass in 1937, he didn't receive any payment since the publishing company had gone bankrupt. Over the next few years, he wrote several books which were adventurous and romantic novels about imaginary characters set in various periods of Scottish history. He also wrote several westerns under the pseudonym Nye Tredgold to provide additional income for his family. A castle (from the Latin castellum) is a structure that is fortified for defence against an enemy and generally serves as a military headquarters dominating the surrounding countryside[1]. The term is most often applied to a small self-contained fortress, usually of the Middle Ages. ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Stirling Castle has stood for centuries atop a volcanic crag defending the lowest ford of the River Forth. ... Broncho Billy Anderson, from The Great Train Robbery The Western movie is one of the classic American film genres. ...

Between 1962 and 1971 he published the landmark series in five volumes, The Fortified House in Scotland. This covered the history and structure of every castle and similar structure in Scotland, 663 buildings in all and is still well worth reading for those who have an interest in this specialist area. 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar). ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ... The Fortfied House in Scotland is a five-volume book by the Scottish author Nigel Tranter. ...

While researching the castles, Tranter realised that there were many characters and incidents in Scottish history which could be used as the basis for novels, which he tried to make as accurate as possible - while making no effort to hide his own strong Scottish identity. This was the direction which his writing then took, starting with the Master of Gray in 1961, telling the story of Patrick of Gray and his plotting to release Mary Queen of Scots. He continued in this vein until his death, producing carefully researched historical novels about real people and events. These novels have gained a wide readership while providing a basic grounding in Scottish history to their readers. 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1961 calendar). ... Mary I of Scotland; known as Mary, Queen of Scots Mary I of Scotland (Mary Stuart or Stewart) (December 8, 1542 – February 8, 1587), better known as Mary, Queen of Scots, was the ruler of Scotland from December 14, 1542 – July 24, 1567. ...

Partial bibliography

• Robert The Bruce trilogy:
  • The Steps to the Empty Throne (1969)
  • The Path of the Hero King (1970)
  • The Price of the King's Peace (1971)
• The Wallace (1975)
• House of Stewart trilogy:
  • Lords of Misrule (1976)
  • A Folly of Princes (1977)
  • The Captive Crown (1977)
• No Tigers in the Hindu Kush (1968), tribute to his son Philip who died in an accident
• James V trilogy:
  • The Riven Realm (1984)
  • James, by the Grace of God (1985)
  • Rough Wooing (1987)
• Warden of the Queen's March (1989)
• The Masters of Gray trilogy

 The Lion's Whelp (1998) 

Awards and honours

• BBC Scotland Scot of the Year, 1989

It has been suggested that BBC One Scotland be merged into this article or section. ...

See also

• List of Scottish writers

List of Scottish writers is an alphabetical list of Scottish writers. ...

External link

• Nigel Tranter website