The thistle and the rose - Allan Massie

A complex interplay of rivalry, collusion, affection and hostility has been central to the relationship between Scotland and England since the first attempt at dynastic union - 'the Rough Wooing' - between Margaret Tudor and James IV. James VI of Scotland and their great-grandson, James I of England, finally brought the nations together under a single monarch. A hundred years later, in 1707, the Treaty of Union linked their destinies - until the recent loosening of ties after the Scots opted for devolution.



Peopled with some of the greatest figures of the political, literary and scientific worlds, The Thistle and the Rose reveals how the two nations have been mutually influential. It also questions whether their historic and powerful union can survive.