ALICE WEMYSSDAVID LORD ELCHO, heir to the 5th Earl of Wemyss, commanded Prince Charles Edward’s cavalry during the latter’s bid to win back the throne of his Stuart ancestors in 1745—46. Their relationship which began in childhood ended in blazing acrimony after the battle of Culloden with Elcho berating the Prince for needlessly abandoning his army.
* Elcho’s Journal, written in French during his exile, has lain largely neglected at Wemyss Castle until rescued recently by the late Hon. Alice Wemyss. It is the last, as yet unpublished, key source for the history of the rising, and describes how Eleho was ensnared into Jacobitism, the course of the ’45, including his famous row with the Prince after Culloden and his escape from Scotland. It offers a vivid picture of life in ancien regime Europe where he lived in some style until his death in 1787. By combining the insights offered by the Journal with Eleho’s other writings and with a wide range of other source material, the author provides the most authentic picture yet available of a man who was at the centre of one of Scottish history’s great adventures.
* The Earl of Wemyss and March KT contributes the foreword and the book has been edited by John Sibbald Gibson the distinguished writer on the Jacobite period.
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