The Forest Laird

A Tale of William Wallace - The Guardians, Book 1

By: Jack Whyte

Narrated by: David Monteath

Length: 19 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

In the pre-dawn hours of August 24th, 1305, in London's Smithfield Prison, the outlaw William Wallace - hero of all the Scots and deadly enemy of King Edward of England - sits awaiting the dawn, when he is to be hanged and then drawn and quartered. This brutal sundering of his body is the revenge of the English. Wallace is visited by a Scottish priest who has come to hear his last confession, a priest who knows Wallace like a brother. Wallace's confession - the tale that follows - is all the more remarkable because it comes from real life.

We follow Wallace through his many lives - as outlaw and fugitive, hero and patriot, rebel and kingmaker. His exploits and escapades, desperate struggles and victorious campaigns are all here, as are the high ideals and fierce patriotism that drove him to abandon the people he loved to save his country.

William Wallace is the first heroic figure from the Scottish Wars of Independence, a man whose fame has reached far beyond his homeland. Wallace served as a subject for the Academy Award - winning film Braveheart. In The Forest Laird, Jack Whyte's masterful storytelling breathes life into Wallace's tale, giving listeners an amazing character study of the man who helped shape Scotland's future.

©2010 Jack Whyte (P)2017 Audible, Inc.

Riveting…🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

First in a trilogy. I’m totally fascinated by William Wallace. This one tells of and imagines his beginnings all the way up until he fully enters the fray, in search of Scotland’s independence from English rule. It ends just before the Battle of Sterling Bridge. This was an atmospheric page turner. Superbly read!

1st review!?

Would you consider the audio edition of The Forest Laird to be better than the print version?

its a good book, I like the fantasy feel and easy conversational historical information that is the backdrop, its interesting

Well written and narrated

I stumbled on this book by chance after watching Outlaw/King on Netflix. I decided that I need to learn more about both William Wallace and Robert the Bruce. I am in wonder over how the story line in this novel and the narration of it draw me in and have kept me enthralled. I highly recommend listening to this novel if you are interested in Scotland's history.

Great Audiobook.

Loved the Scottish Narrative because it makes it seem more real and quite dramatic. Just like listening to one of the Scottish storytellers of old.

Great Story

Great narration… Great story with fiction wrapped in history. It gives a great fictional story of how Young William Wallace came to be. Moving on to the renegade.

A living history.

Being placed into the shoes of William Wallace’s friend, cousin, and confidant brought this tale to life. It felt more like a real story than a history lesson through Jamie’s eyes. I can’t wait to move on to the next in the series!

everything

this book has it all
excellent on all counts
beautiful story and the telling of it

tedious to get through early life of braveheart

i like jack white author of merlin and king arthur series skystone. i love history and war stories. this book was a lot of teen years and twenties with abuse and grief by the english but no action. main point of view is the priest and his moral angst.

Sadly, I couldn't get past Chapter 2.

I usually enjoy historical fiction, but the way this book started I just didn't get into it.