If you follow me on Facebook, you know that I am editing the next book in the Through the Mist series. Editing can be a brutal process. In the initial stages of writing, I put everything on the proverbial page. Then, during the editing process, I savagely cut parts that I believe get in the way of the story. Do they serve any other purpose than proving I know a lot about a particular subject? After all, you came to the story with the expectation of a light-hearted romance, not a history essay.
The Clearances sit in the background of all books in the series, even more so with this one. Naturally, I have read a lot of material about the event. So far, I have cut a lot of paragraphs from the book or trimmed sections to a single sentence. You don’t need all the detail. You want to know what is happening with a particular character.
Well, it seems a shame to waste all of that information. Here are three key things to know:
The Clearances weren’t confined to the Scottish Highlands. If money is involved, terrible things happen. Countless books and articles have been written about the clearances that happened in the Scottish Highlands. Did you know similar things happened in the Scottish Lowlands? Two points for Gryffindor if you did. I did not.
Sheep were more profitable than people. A booming wool trade made it much more advantageous for greedy landlords to displace communities and raise sheep in their place. Folks who lived on the land for centuries suddenly found themselves without a home. Some were forced off the land, with their homes burned to the ground before their eyes. Others immigrated to Canada, America, and beyond. A few stayed in Scotland and tried to scratch out an existence by the sea.
The Duke and Duchess of Sutherland did horrible things. Read about it. It is unbelievable what their factor and these aristocrats did. I could go on and on – trust me. You want to read it for yourself.
History is more interesting than the romantic tales we read in books or see in movies and TV shows. If you are willing to do a little research on your own, you will be amazed by what you find. Happy digging!