book about the border wars between Scotland and England, and the reivers who fought them.
"It is an odd border that divides England and Scotland, set in stone (Hadrian's Wall) in Roman times and enduring to this day. There has always been enmity across the two sides of the border, but, as Fraser points out, the whole region is also one that kept its distance from the rest of both Scotland and England, the reivers often closer to each other (certainly in spirit) than to distant Edinburgh or London. The reivers were a different breed, regardless of their nominal nationality."
"Fraser also presents the reivers well as separate from the governments that supposedly had authority over them, and the trouble London and Edinburgh had in exerting much influence in this strategically important frontier area. From hapless Wardens installed to set things right (an idea doomed to failure) to various laws that were largely unenforceable, the governments had a tough time of it."
From: http://www.complete-review.com/reviews/frasergm/sbonnets.htm
I know, but I love reading about small, obscure sections of our almost-forgotten human histories that survive mostly as folklore nowadays, although they were lived out by real people suffering real loss at the time.
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