The Lairds of Dun

Violet Augusta Frederica Jacob, née Kennedy-Erskine (1863-1946) was a distinguished Scottish writer, with an extensive output of historical novels, poetry and commentary as a social historian. She is heralded as a Scottish great with a commemorative plaque in Makars' Court, outside the Writers' Museum, Lawnmarket, Edinburgh.

As the great-granddaughter of King William IV and from a long lineage of Scottish and English aristocracy, warlords, colonial conquerors and political figures Jacob had plenty of raw material. While this particular book is a treasure trove of genealogical reference it is also a well-constructed historical study of social and religious reformation and a source for vivid family gossip dating back to 1385.

Born to, and marrying into, distinguished circles of Anglo-Caledonian/Anglo-Hibernian families, Jacob spent her life studying, recording and writing both fiction and non-fiction drawn from a wealth of family accounts, public records and a great deal of experience. Her marriage to a distinguished Irish Lieutenant brought their family back and forth across the vast imperialist, colonial empire, including a long stretch of service in India. However, Scotland and Dun (Forfarshire) as per the title, and the seat of her father's line, was where both her heart and literary interest lay.