The Afterlife of King James IV - Reviews from Goodreads

The Afterlife of Kings James IV is being published by Chronos Books in April 2019...

Janet rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2019ng, book-club-picks, kindle

I received a DIGITAL Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

From the publisher, as I do not regurgitate the contents or story of books in reviews, I let them do it.


The Afterlife of King James IV explores the survival stories following the Scottish king's defeat at the battle of Flodden in 1513, and how his image and legacy were used in the years that followed when he remained a shadow player in the politics of a shattered kingdom. Keith John Coleman ha ...more

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Feb 17, 2019Alyson Stone rated it really liked it

Shelves: arc, nonfiction, history, renaissance

Book: The Afterlife of King James IV: Otherworld Legends of the Scottish King
Author: Keith John Coleman
Rating: 4 Out of 5 Stars

I would like to thank the publisher, Chronos Books, for sending me this ARC.

I will admit that at first, I wasn’t sure that I was going to like this one. Keith’s writing starting out was a bit slow. It read more like a scholarly piece than the easy writing that I have come to expect from Chronos Books. I kept on going and it did get better. I really do think that this is one of those books that you are gong to have to give time to. It is a very well written and researched book, but this may not be the one to start on if you are looking into Stuart Scotland.

This book kind of straddles between history and folklore. We do actually get the best of both worlds in this one. On the one hand, Keith is looking at the historical background and figure of King James IV, then he turns around and adds in some folklore about the king’s death. Again, this is why I don’t recommend you start out reading this book if you are new to Stuart Scotland. What Keith does he cleverly weavers in both of these elements with support to make us get the whole picture of what could have happened to James IV after his death. We also get some of the lead up to his death; again, this is why I don’t recommend this to newbies because if you don’t have an understanding of what was going on in this time period, then you are going to be lost.

What I really liked was the different layers of the story. It’s kind of a ghost story, but it’s not. I mean, this is nonfiction with just a little bit of a twist. I like how complex the book was, even though it’s really not that long. I really have never read a nonfiction book like this; I’ve read nonfiction books with layers before, but this one is different. I don’t know, but I just really like mixing the known with the unknown and having the information to support his theories.

Okay, that is the main thing here. I have read a number of articles and books that are supposed to be arguing something, but end up losing that point throughout the book. This one doesn’t. Keith uses information to form his point and explores all angles. Keith’s voice is there, but it’s not too much-like some other books that I have read. It’s just enough to see what Keith is trying to prove, but, yet, sticking to the story.

Overall, not a bad read. It did take me a little bit to get into it, but it was worth it. This book comes out on April 26, 2019. If you want to check it out for yourself, then hop onto Netgalley and make a request…At least, I think it’s on Netgalley…Don’t hold me to that…. (less)

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Feb 08, 2019Ionia rated it really liked it

What impressed me about this book, was that it didn't start out with simple ghost stories of how the Scottish King, James IV, was seen after his death. Instead, it delved into history head first and gave the reader a good look at Scotland at the time and a feel for who the king and his predecessors were. Once the author introduced the important players in the life and death of the king, only then did he embark on the supernatural aspects of the book. 

Descent from Kings: the Royal Clans

It is perhaps human nature to claim descent from important or significant people. The heritage of clan and kindred names in Scotland is notoriously deceptive as genealogists, from relatively early times as well as later writers, have manufactured, distorted and deceived in order to suit the political and egotistical aims of the person employing them.  Trends in ancestry have also of course played a part, with a one time widespread snobbery making clans in many cases falsely claim ancestry from Norman progenitors even when this appears to be highly suspect. A few clan families claim descent from royals outside what is now Scotland.  The Forbes family sometimes boasted that they were descendants of a daughter of an unnamed king of Ireland.  The Campbells linked their origins with the kindred of King Arthur, which is likely a slightly distorted memory of connections with the elite of the Brittonic kingdom of Strathclyde. The earliest Campbells may have had their roots in the firmly region of the Lennox, around Loch Lomond, which was in the hinterland of the fortress of Dumbarton Rock, the 'Fort of the Britons'.

   It has been conjectured that the prominent family the Brodies may be named after the series of Pictish king named Brude or Bridei, though this conjecture (like many of the actively promoted legends of royal descent) is now impossible to prove. One Brude (son of Maelchon) notably encountered St Columba at his fortress somewhere near Inverness.  Brodie Castle, home of the family of that name, is (co-incidentally or not) in the same region.  Another theory states that the MacNaughton kindred took their name from Nechtan (Naiton), another Pictish royal name which was borne by several rulers.

    The Lamont family in Cowal may be thought to enshrine a Norman origin in their name, but an alternative theory states that they owe their title to the 13th century chieftain named Ladman.  The family themselves claimed descent from the kindred of King Comgall, who, fittingly, have his name to the district of Cowall.

The Macgregors

   The so-called 'Children of the Mist' had the distinction of being unable to use their surname for some time because of rampant criminality among their ranks.  But persecution perhaps led them to adopt the myth of royal lineage. 'Royal is my race,' is the motto of the Macgregors.  One tradition says that the founder of the clan was the brother of the 9th century king Kenneth mac Alpin, who supposedly conquered the Picts, though there is an alternative supposition that the eponym of the clan was a song of King Dungal, a supposed joint ruler of the kingdom of Alba.

   Another factor in the singular history of this clan is their central role in the conglomoration of septs who all claimed descent from a single king, known as Sìol Ailpein (Seed of Alpin).  The seven families grouped together under this heading were:  Clan Grant, Clan MacAulay, Clan Gregor, Clan Macfie, Clann Mackinnon, Clan MacQuarrie, Clan Macnab.  at the least, the joint efforts of several kindreds to project back their pasts into branches of various royal lines demonstrates dynamic myth making and the importance of pedigrees to the status and identity of later clans well into the early modern period.  The clans Gregor and Grant held discussions in the 18th century about combining their kindreds, partly on the basis of supposed descent from 6th century ruler Alpin of Dal Riada.  The MacGregors acknowledged shared heritage in documents with other clans throughout the 16th and 17th centuries.

The MacNabs

The Macnabs associated with Glendochart and Strathfillan,allegedly since the 7th century.  Some of their historians traced the line back to Ferchar mac Feradach, supposedly a brother of St Fillan (who died in 703).  A branch of the MacNabs were dewars, hereditary keepers of the relics of Fillan in this area.

   Another family with possibly royal associations here is the Grant family.  It is supposed that an Anglo-Norman William le Grant obtained land in Stratherrich, Inverness-shire,  in 1246 through marriage to a local heiress.  By the 15th century the clan had spread widely and Sir Iain Grant is thought to have married the Celtic heiress of the ancient royal house of Strathearn and descendants of this union later moved into the area of Strathspey.