The Candlemass Road

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The Candlemass Road
The Candlemass Road.jpg
First edition (UK)
Author George MacDonald Fraser
LanguageEnglish
Genrehistorical fiction
Publisher Harvill Press (UK)
HarperCollins (US)
Publication date
1993
Publication placeUnited Kingdom
Pages156

The Candlemass Road is a historical novel from George MacDonald Fraser set in the time of the Border Reivers, a period Fraser had earlier written about in The Steel Bonnets and would later return to in The Reavers . [1] [2]

Contents

Fraser later described it as "a rather dark morality tale - at least I meant it to have a moral - in what I hope was a reasonable imitation of Elizabethan English". [3]

Fraser originally wrote it as a play but was dissatisfied with the result and rewrote it as a novel. [4]

The author said he had another purpose in writing the book, to emphasise the decline in law and order. "We're becoming a nation of broken men," he told a journalist in 1993. "Now that the law fails to protect us, people have just got to look out for themselves - within the custom of the country, which is not necessarily within the law." [5]

The book is mentioned in the film All My Friends Are Leaving Brisbane .

The book was adapted for radio. [4]

Reception

The Washington Post said "Readers who enjoy a snatch of history brought to life will enjoy this brief but fascinating tale. However, the slightness of the plot, along with the old-fashioned treatment of point of view and the lack of character development, will leave those looking for a satisfying story disappointed." [6]

References

  1. Stanley Reynolds, "George MacDonald Fraser: He created Harry Flashman, tormentor of Tom Brown turned comical anti-hero", The Guardian, 4 January 2008 accessed 23 November 2012
  2. Books: Reiving up on the Borders Cameron, David. The Daily Telegraph09 Oct 1993: 27.
  3. George MacDonald Fraser, The Light's On at Signpost, HarperCollins 2002 p311
  4. 1 2 "George MacDonald Fraser". Manx Radio's Island Life Series - Specials You Tube. 5 February 2025.
  5. Lord, Graham (11 December 1993). "Writing on the border line". The Daily Telegraph. p. 69.
  6. "FICTION: THE CANDLEMASS ROAD By George MacDonald Fraser Harvill/HarperCollins. 180 pp. $20". The Washington Post. 22 January 1995.