A: I write the cover copy for all of my books, so if my claim that that The Lords of the Isles is the first modern account of the rise and fall of Clan Donald is boastful, I have to plead guilty as charged! I take the view that when a casual reader picks up a book it is important to grab his attention in the best way possible, in an attempt to ensure that he will explore further. What better way to do this than to claim some unique or special feature for the book in question? Besides, I have to say, in pleading mitigation, that the statement is largely true. There are other books on Clan Donald, but they tend to be partial accounts, dealing with a limited time period or a particular aspect of the family. As far as I am aware, the last complete account of the family was Clan Donald by Donald J. Macdonald, published in 1978. This book passes over the Highland Clearances in complete silence. More seriously, it is largely based on huge and unacknowledged grafts from the earlier Clan Donald by the Reverends Angus and Archibald Macdonald, published in three volumes between 1893 and 1904.

A: Unfortunately, beyond the bare facts outlined in The Lord of the Isles, I can provide no additional information on the life of Mackintosh. Records at this time are notoriously scanty, especially those dealing with Highland affairs. Clan Chattan was, of course, part of the Lordship at the time of the Battle of Harlaw, so it’s quite likely that Calum was accompanied by his allies, including the Macphersons and Macbeans. It is, however, impossible to be certain about this.

A: Migration and intermarriage was a common feature of life during the Lordship of the Isles. However, blood loyalty was confined to the older families, long established in the Isles and Lochaber. When the Lordship acquired the feudal Earldom of Ross in the early fifteenth century, there would, of course, have been marriages between the Macdonalds and the Mackenzies, the leading family of Inverness-shire. Even so, the Mackenzies never developed any lasting attachment to their Macdonald overlords and were quick to seize their independence after the forfeiture of the last Lord of the Isles in 1493.

A: As far as I am aware, Alexander held the post of sheriff in the north until his death in 1449.

A: In fact, it was never my intention to write a history of Clan Donald. In 1998 I finished my third book, a history of the 17th century Scottish Covanateer wars. Hating a vacuum, I at once began a fresh project. However, at that time John Donald, my publishing company, was undergoing lengthy merger negotiations with another undisclosed company, which later turned out to be Birlinn, also an Edinburgh based publishing house. Unable to disclose my ideas with a commissioning editor, I began gathering material for a history of Clan Campbell. When the fog finally cleared, I put my proposal to Hugh Andrew, the managing director of Birlinn. He told me that he would have been very interested in this, but, unbeknown to me, there were already two histories of the Campbells close to completion, including one by Alastair Campbell of Airds. As an alternative he suggested a history of Clan Donald. After some initial hesitation, I set out to follow this path, a decision I have never regretted. The research took about a year. Writing took a much smaller time. I have never been terrorized, like so many others, by the blank page, and enjoy the whole process of creating crisp and balanced sentences. From first word to final period, the writing took about eight weeks. Most of the research was done in the National Library of Scotland, based in Edinburgh.

A: Sadly, my grandfather died when I was only eight years old, so I remember very little about him. His family originally came from the Western Isles, and he served in the army during the First World War, being wounded at the Battle of Somme. Beyond the temporary net of living memory, most people are left with no permanent record of their existence here on Earth. It seemed to me that the best way of honouring him was by means of a simple dedication, which will survive for as long as people are civilized and libraries exist. It also seemed most appropriate to do so in a book about Clan Donald, as a small gesture of friendship and reconciliation.

A: I do not believe it to be wise or sensible for Scotland to separate completely from England, especially in matters of national defense, and I would most certainly never wish to see border and custom controls between the two nations. It may be that some of these older issues will, in the end, be superseded by the continuing development of the European Union.

A: For many years I was a confirmed supporter of a separate Scottish Parliament. It would, however, be wrong to say that the reality has lived up to the ideal. This is perhaps less to do with the institution as such. Sadly, too many of the representatives - especially the Socialists – are at best second rate and intellectually impoverished. I hope this doesn’t sound too harsh. London continues to draw the better minds. Are we better off? On balance the answer to this is probably yes. In the past, much Scottish business tended to get bogged down in the Westminster quagmire.

A: I always believed that the chief aim of a separate Scottish Parliament, besides dealing more effectively with purely domestic business, was to give my nation a higher profile in the world. I suppose this has happened to some extent, although not to a sufficient high degree as yet. I certainly hope that one day American people – beyond those of Scottish descent – will think of the British Isles as much more than England!

A: My next book is to be called No Tragic Story – The Fall of the House of Campbell and is due for publication in the spring. This deals with the events leading up to the ninth Earl of Argyll’s rebellion in 1685 against King James VII of Scotland and II of England, Britain’s last Catholic sovereign. At the moment I am gathering material for a biography of John Maitland, second Earl and only Duke of Lauderdale, who dominated Scottish politics during the reign of Charles II. Lauderdale was both unscrupulous and corrupt. I suppose the nearest American equivalent is a Tammany Hall Boss.