[2] In 1913, Buchan’s publishers T Nelson released his first attempt at a biography, The Marquis of Montrose,[3] which was dedicated to his brother Willie who had died a year earlier.

[4] The earlier book did not receive universal acclaim, and his old antagonist D. Hay Fleming took the opportunity to attack the author for giving insufficient credit to Argyll.

[7] Over the next fifteen years he collected material for a more historically-expansive work, adding to previous scholarship with a study of the pamphlet literature of the time,[7] and in 1928 T Nelson published the scholarly Montrose.

As Charles's lieutenant-general in Scotland, Montrose was, argues Buchan, a skilful general during a series of Highland and Lowland battles in 1645-46, but who was ultimately thwarted later in 1646 by the disaster of Philiphaugh.

[6] The biography is, said one later critic, presented with a reverent, dignified but not exaggerated dramatic power;[6] while another praised Buchan’s research while expressing some regret at the loss of “good sharp phrases” from his earlier work.