The Blood And The Barley

An Evocative Tale of Smuggling and Survival. Loyalty and Love.

The North-Eastern Highlands, 1780. The Jacobite Cause is lost, and in the repressive aftermath of Culloden, the government seeks to crush the ancient and proud clan culture. In Strathavon, crofters risk their lives smuggling illicit whisky to scrape together the means to remain on the precious land of their fathers. For here land and kinship mean all.

Fiercely independent, Morven MacRae is the daughter of a notorious smuggler. To be a healer like her enigmatic neighbour is her greatest wish. Only her neighbour is allegedly a witch, her life and those of the glen smugglers blighted by a corrupt and ruthless exciseman. A man possessed - both with the want of her and the fear of her.

Evicted from Strathavon as an infant, Jamie Innes is driven by honour and an abiding loyalty. To protect his kinswoman and her young apprentice, he will risk his life. Only secrets set them against each other, loyalties are tested, and superstitions abound. In a desperate attempt to save his last remaining kin, Jamie must let the woman he loves believe he has betrayed her. Yet this one man will rouse an entire community to protect his kin, his love, and his way of life.

The Blood & The Barley is the debut novel by Scottish author, Angela MacRae Shanks. Rich with historical detail and the language and lore of the Highlands, this is a sensitive love story and a glimpse into the secret and perilous tradition of illicit whisky smuggling. A full-blooded tale of raw emotions, prejudice and injustice.