Son of a Jacobite by T.J. Lovat

History comes to life.

Growing up in Scotland I have heard, read or saw a lot on Culloden and our Jacobite history so was very curious to see what this book could add to that. T.J Lovat had aptly named it Son of a Jacobite as this book is pretty much the life of that one character. A boy, Thomas, born the day of Culloden while his father fought and died for the Jacobite cause. This gives it the underlying current only of Thomas losing his father, moving away and ultimately being lost on what to do with his life.

The book though is more about the relationships and thoughts Thomas has especially in his teenage years and twenties. I love that even though he grows up mainly in England he has a love still of his country and heritage. With that being said as he grows he is confused about this and his anger around losing his father. He travels around the world and you can see him struggle to find his own identity along with working out how the world works. He even joins the British Army later in the book as well which could be surprising giving his history the decision seems to work well as you read the book and get to know Thomas. Through it all you see him grow in his own beliefs. Not necessarily This religious beliefs  but in what is right and wrong.

 T.J Lovat does a great job at showing different sides to Islam, religion as a whole and the differences in how people react when with people of different faiths than their own.  The descriptions of all the places and people are also well done but the main focus is always on Thomas and his interactions with them.

I do feel that there are few bits in the book where I thought the story was starting to drag. However l also think a lot of the background information was useful in what was happening in those times and gave more meaning to what Thomas was both going through then but also with his thoughts and beliefs as the story went along.

It was great to read something different and there seems to be a hint near the end that there might be more to come from T.J Lovat, even If this is a standalone book, I can't wait to see what else he comes up with.

By Claire