Description

Midwinter is a historical novel by John Buchan set during the Jacobite rising of 1745.

Departing from his more familiar modern thrillers, Buchan turns here to the eighteenth century and the divided loyalties of Britain in the age of Prince Charles Edward Stuart. The narrative follows Alastair Maclean, a young Highlander drawn into the Jacobite cause, whose journey carries him from the Scottish Highlands into England amid the uncertainties of rebellion.

As in Buchan's later adventure fiction, questions of honour, allegiance, and personal integrity remain central. Yet Midwinter is more reflective in tone than his contemporary spy novels, grounding its drama in historical circumstance and political complexity. The shifting fortunes of the rising provide the backdrop for a study of character shaped by conviction and restraint.

Measured in prose and attentive to atmosphere, the novel stands as an example of Buchan's sustained engagement with Scottish history and national identity.