The Last of the Clan - Keith Branigan

A biography of the last ancient clan chief of Clan Macneil, Roderick Macneil. This book as about the transformation of a highland chieftain into an officer and a gentleman. It's the story of General Roderick Macneil, the last hereditary chief of his Clan. Brought up on the remote island of Barra, as a young man he survived the horrendous Napoleonic campaigns (Corunna, Walcheren, Waterloo). When he became chief in 1822 he introduced the industrial revolution to the Western Isles and went bankrupt in spectacular fashion. He re-invented himself and led a charmed life in the Indian Army, before returning to live out his retirement in a fine house overlooking Hyde Park.