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Title: Highland Laddie Gone
Author: Sharyn McCrumb
Age level: High School
Recommended by: Susan Thurman (formerly of) Henderson County High School, Henderson, Kentucky
Summary: Highland Laddie Gone
is the third in a series of light, humorous mysteries featuring amateur sleuth Elizabeth MacPherson, a forensic anthropologist. While celebrating her Scottish heritage at the Glencoe Mountain Games in Virginia, Elizabeth meets Cameron Dawson, a real Scot (and a man who turns out to be the person least interested in Scottish heritage and traditions—but most interested in Elizabeth). Elizabeth and Cameron find themselves caught up in several dilemmas
:
the belief in the existence of the Scottish Republican Army, the mistaken idea that Cameron is a British spy, and two murders (beginning with the murder of loathsome Colin Campbell, the head of the Campbell clan). With the help of Cameron and her cousin Geoffrey, Elizabeth sets out to free an innocent man and help solve the murders.
Teaching suggestions: The following help to enhance the enjoyment of this book and give students an across-the-curriculum look at Scotland:
1) a record, CD or tape of Scottish music (especially featuring some of the songs mentioned in the novel, including "Loch Lomand" and "Scotland, the Brave"). Here is a listing of Internet resources for teaching this work
: Lyrics to "Loch Lomand": http://links.uwaterloo.ca/~douglas/Songs/loch.lomand.html Lyrics and music: http: //www.geocities.com/EnchantedForest/Dell/1681/banksof.html Audio file of "Scotland the Brave": http://www.clan-cameron.org/audio.html History of the kilt: http: //hometown.aol.com/SconeMac/kilt.html Map of Scotland: http: //www.cco.caltech.edu/~gatti/gabaldon/clanmap.html History of Scotland (i.e., Bonnie Prince Charlie): http://www.Highlanderweb.co.uk/wallace/bonnie.htm History of Scotland: http ://hometown.aol.com/Skyelander/timeline.html List of Scottish clans and septs: http ://www.users.mis.net/~chesnut/pages/scot.htm Examples of tartans for Scottish clans: http://www.house-of-tartan.scotland.net/house/tfinder.htm Additional teaching notes: Make sure that students look at the publication date of the book, and then explain to them that—at that time—Diana,
Princess of Wales, was married to Prince Charles, the heir to the throne. After reading the book, students may be interested in Scottish history-in-the-making, with the institution of the Scottish Parliament (which
has been denied to Scots for 300 years). For more information, access this website: http://www.scottish-devolution.org.uk/frame.htm Students who are not familiar with Macbeth should know that it is a play set in Scotland, and several of its famous lines are quoted in Highland Laddie Gone. |
