Kirsteen M MacKenzie, La Garde Ecossaise: The Life of John Hamilton c.1620-1689: Part 1, History Gateway Limited, 2022, pp.536.
I am delighted to announce the publication of my debut historical fiction novel La Garde Ecossaise: The Life of John Hamilton c.1620-1689 Part 1. This is the first novel in the La Garde Ecossaise series which aims to generate interest and curiosity in seventeenth century history. The novels are set during the reign of Louis XIV and follow the lives of six elite soldiers who are part of Louis XIVs Scottish bodyguard regiment or La Garde Ecossaise.
‘A secret war rages between Louis XIV and William of Orange, a conflict which threatens the stability and security of France and a fight that will determine the future of Europe. Only John Hamilton and his men in La Garde Ecossaise can protect the French realm.
It is time for the secret history of La Garde Ecossaise to be told and the stories of those men who dedicated their lives to protect innocents from certain death. These are their stories and the chronicle of the lives they saved.
This is the story of Lieutenant-General John Hamilton, the head of an elite group of soldiers in La Garde Ecossaise tasked with keeping France safe from its enemies. John Hamilton, a humble farmer who fled Ulster in 1641, joins the French forces in the Thirty Years War, becoming one of Louis XIVs most trusted men. Physically imposing, he strikes fear into the King’s most determined enemies.
Yet these enemies have discovered his ultimate weakness, a weakness which could destroy Hamilton, La Garde Ecossaise and even France itself’.
This sweeping tale carries the reader through the 1641 Irish rebellion, the Scottish Highlands, the Thirty Years War, the Franco-Spanish War, the Franco-Dutch War and into the heart of Louis XIVs France.
The novel series will be accompanied by an official podcast which will explore the novel in greater depth and the historical events that inspired it. Subsequently whilst researching my family history found an ancestor served in the bodyguard of Louis XVIII and most recently during the final stages of the book I discovered that my direct ancestor George Gordon, 2nd Marquess of Huntly, was head of the real La Garde Ecossaise during the reign of Louis XIII!
Lastly, but certainly not least, the novel is a homage to Franco-British military cooperation through the centuries.