A Candid and Impartial Account of the Behaviour of Simon Lord Lovat

"A Candid and Impartial Account of the Behaviour of Simon Lord Lovat (title-page)

This polemical piece is about the account of Simon Fraser, the 11th Lord Lovat’s death. He was a Scottish Jacobite, Chief of Clan de Fraser of Lovat, and well-known for violent feuds his changes of allegiance. He was regarded as ambitious and cunning--someone willing to do whatever it took to advance his own interests and those of his clan. In 1747, the British Government convicted him of treason against the Crown and he was sentenced to death This book is authored by an anonymous figure who claims to speak the truth and nothing else. He claims to bear witness to the actions of a person of rank, quality, and distinction. The timeline covered by this book is the week of Lord Lovat receiving his death warrant, on April 3rd, 1747, to the day of his execution on April 9th, 1747. It’s a representation of the man’s loyalty, virtuousness, and devotion to his religious beliefs and his support of the Jacobite uprising. The document claims to document Lovat’s remarkable sayings, a letter which he wrote to his son, and the copy of the paper which he delivered to the Sheriff. Overall, the book opens a new perspective on Lord Lovat’s historical reputation for being self-serving and sheds lights on the propaganda that surrounded famous Jacobite figures. 

A Candid and Impartial Account of the Behaviour of Simon Lord Lovat : From the Time His Death-Warrant Was Deliver'D, to the Day of His Execution. Together with A faithful Narrative of the particular Incidents which happen’d that Day in the Tower, in the Sheriff’s Apartment, and on the Scaffold. Interspers’d with Some of his Lordship’s remarkable Sayings, a Letter which he wrote to his Son, and the Copy of a Paper which he delivered to the Sheriff. By A Gentleman Who Attended His Lordship in his Last Moments. London : J. Newberry, 1747. 13 p.; 20 cm. Archival & Special Collections, University of Guelph Library (s0513b43)

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