ALLAN MACLEAN, JACOBITE GENERAL: THE LIFE OF AN EIGHTEENTH CENTURY CAREER SOLDIER. Fryer, Mary Beacock. Toronto, Dundurn Press, 1987. 240pp, paper. ISBN 1-55002-009-9 (cloth) $24.95. 1-55002-011-0 (paper) $12.95. CIP Grades 10 and up Reviewed by Robert Nicholas Berard Volume 16 Number 4 1988 July Allan Maclean was born in 1725, the son of a poor laird of Clan Maclean, on the Isle of Mull. He joined his fellow clansmen in 1746 in support of Bonnie Prince Charlie and fought at Culloden. After the defeat of Jacobite forces, Maclean travelled to Holland, North America and Paris. Only in 1775, with the outbreak of the American Revolution, was Maclean able to distinguish himself militarily. He played a significant role in the defence of Quebec, served as military governor of Montreal and raised and commanded his own regiment of Highland emigrants. Too antiquarian to make cither good fiction or good history, Fryer's book might appeal to those with a taste for the minutiae of military history—several of the book's photographs feature enthusiasts who dress up in period costume and re-enact battles—or the kin relationships of Highland clans. The author is more concerned with descriptions of regimental fancy dress and Maclean's food than with the historical context in which he operated. The story-telling is melodramatic, the dialogue risible—" 'och, aye,' Donald said dourly, 'I know the lass is sweet on ye.'" Fryer has made Maclean, the subject of an enlightening entry by George Stanley in the Dictionary of Canadian Biography, an unattractive and uninteresting character. One is more intrigued by the wretched Anne Eastick, an abused and abandoned mistress, whom Fryer condescendingly refers to as a "jailbird" and a "whore". This book has little to offer either the student of history or the general reader, and only the library that can afford to cater to very specialized tastes should consider it. The Ontario Arts Council assisted the publication of this dreary book, and one may wonder why. Robert Nicholas Berard, Dalhousie University, Halifax, N.S.