Dear Reader,

When I first imagined the concept behind this series, I knew I wanted to create a cast of incredibly brave heroines who would have to risk nearly everything for the good of their country and their future king. The Jacobite era of Great Britain’s history is the last civil war fought on the united soils of Scotland and England, ultimately coming to rest in a rather tragic ending for many. Throughout the tumultuous years were born many heroes—dozens of which were women.

I wanted to incorporate their bravery, tenacity, and enthusiasm for their cause and their loyalty to a prince they wanted to be king, so I used many of their stories when creating those within this series. In Truly Madly Plaid, you will find Annie’s story to have a flavor of the lives of Anne MacKay, Anne Leith, and Lady Winifred Maxwell, mixed in with a generous helping of my imagination.

There is also a fun rumor that the Christmas carol “O Come, All Ye Faithful” was in fact a Jacobite call to arms, and that the line “come and behold Him, born the king of angels” was code for “come and behold him, born the king of the English”—who just so happened to be Bonnie Prince Charlie. Allegedly the Latin verse was actually a celebration of the prince’s birth rather than of Jesus’s, all connotation of which was lost when it was translated in the nineteenth century. Learning that his people were nicknamed angels, it seemed a fun theme to incorporate into the series: Prince Charlie’s Angels.

I do hope you enjoy reading this book and the rest of the series as much as I have enjoyed writing it!

Best wishes,

Eliza