A Short History of Scotland is a consise introduction to the history of Scotland from Roman times to the last Jacobite rebellion, written by the author of a much longer Scottish history. (Summary by Sibella Denton.)

While the book is dated it will give a general background to the historical context that the reiving families found themselves in and goes some way to explaining how this subculture was allowed to evolve in the vaccum between the two greater powers.

About the author

Lang was the eldest of the eight children of John Lang, town clerk of Selkirk, and his wife, Jane Plenderleath Sellar, daughter of Patrick Sellar, factor to the first duke of Sutherland. On 17 April 1875 he married Leonora Blanche Alleyne, youngest daughter of C. T. Alleyne of Clifton and Barbados.

He was educated at Selkirk grammar school, and at the Edinburgh Academy, St Andrews University and at Balliol College, Oxford, where he took a first class in the final classical schools in 1868, becoming a fellow and subsequently honorary fellow of Merton College. As a journalist, poet, critic and historian, he soon made a reputation as one of the most able and versatile writers of the day.

He died of angina pectoris at the Tor-na-Coille Hotel in Banchory, survived by his wife. He was buried in the cathedral precincts at St Andrews.

From Wikipedia

Additional information and downloads:

• Gutenberg e-text
• Wikipedia – Andrew Lang
• M4B audiobook of Complete Book
• LibriVox’s A Short History of Scotland Internet Archive page
• Zip file of the entire book 231 MB