num_pages: 404
description: "If Jesus Christ were amongst them, they would deceive him," it was said of the plunders, raiders, and outlaws who terrorized the Anglo-Scottish Border for over 300 years. Theirs is an almost forgotten chapter of British history, preserved largely in folktales and ballads. It is the story of the notorious raiding families - Armstrongs, Elliots, Grahams, Johnstones, Maxwells, Scotts, Kerrs, Nixons, and others--of the outlaw bands and broken men, and the fierce battles of English and Scottish armies across the Marches. The Steel Bonnets tells their true story in its historical context - how the reivers ran their raids and operated their system of blackmail and terrorism, and how the March Wardens, enforcing the unique Border law, fought the great lawless community. A superb work of scholarship and a spellbinding narrative. George MacDonald Fraser is the celebrated author of the Flashman novels, The Candlemass Road, The Pyrates, and the Private McAuslan stories.
language: English
title: The Steel Bonnets: The Story of the Anglo - Scottish Border Reivers
titlecomplete: The Steel Bonnets: The Story of the Anglo - Scottish Border Reivers
characters: Walter Scott, 1st Lord Scott of Buccleuch, William Douglas, 10th Earl of Angus
genres: British Literature, Historical, History, European History, War, Scotland, Military History, Crime, Nonfiction, Medieval
ratings_count: 733
places: The Borders, Scotland
publisher: HarperCollins