120,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฟ

Enjoy overnight delivery from our 100% NZ-owned independent bookstore ๐Ÿš€

The Appin Murder

The Killing That Shook a Nation
4.35 goodreads logo

Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.

Check link for latest rating.
( 17 ratings, 4 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
The Appin Murder by James Hunter delves into the infamous 1752 murder case in the Scottish Highlands, exploring its historical and military background. The book examines the complex political tensions and personal vendettas amid the backdrop of post-Jacobite Rising Scotland. Through meticulous historical analysis, it attempts to uncover the truth behind the legends and myths that have surrounded the murder for centuries.
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
TEMPORARILY OUT OF STOCK Please add to wishlist to be notified when back in stock

Sorry, we're currently out of stock of The Appin Murder. Please add to your Wishlist and we'll send you an email as soon as it's back in stock.

Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you're fascinated by Scottish history and unsolved mysteries. It delves into a notorious 18th-century murder that remains one of Scotland's most enduring historical enigmas. The exploration of historical events and their impact on society may captivate those interested in true crime and cultural history.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

A new edition of a classic book by one of Scotland's most eminent historians (originally published by Mainstream asCulloden and the Last Clansman), this is the tragic story of one of Scotland's most notorious murders and miscarriages of justice, which inspired Robert Louis Stevenson'sKidnapped.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

On a hillside near Ballachulish in the Scottish Highlands in May 1752, a rider is assassinated by a gunman. The murdered man is Colin Campbell, a government agent travelling to nearby Duror, where he's evicting farm tenants to make way for his relatives. Campbell's killer evades capture, but Britain's rulers insist this challenge to their authority must result in a hanging. The sacrificial victim is James Stewart, who is organising resistance to Campbell's takeover of lands long held by his clan, the Appin Stewarts.

James is a veteran of the Highland uprising crushed in April 1746 at Culloden. In Duror, he sees homes torched by troops using terror tactics against rebel Highlanders. The same brutal response to dissent means that James's corpse will, for years, hang from a towering gibbet and leave a community utterly ravaged.

Introducing this new and updated edition of his account of what came to be called The Appin Murder, historian James Hunter tells how his own Duror upbringing introduced him to the tragic story of James Stewart.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

The Appin Murder by James Hunter is lauded for its thorough research and engaging narrative style. The author's meticulous attention to detail combined with a gripping sense of urgency propels readers through the historical intricacies towards the inevitable, tragic conclusion.

Book Hero reading reviews

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781780277202

Publisher: Birlinn General

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 01 July 2021

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Birlinn Ltd

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 23.0mm

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 286g

Pages: 320

About the Author

James Hunter is Emeritus Professor of History at the University of the Highlands and Islands. He has written extensively about the north of Scotland and about the region's worldwide diaspora. In the course of a varied career Hunter has been, among other things, director of the Scottish Crofters Union, chairman of Highlands and Islands Enterprise and an award-winning journalist. His book Set Adrift upon the World (Birlinn 2016) was Saltire History Book of the Year in 2016.

Also by James Hunter

View all
  • Pre-order
    Discount Dan
    Noclip In, No Way Out... All Dan wants is to find a way home. He'd settle for a beer, a bite to eat, and a place to sleep off his hangover. But, in an endless, ever-changing dungeon cobbled together from twisted carnivals, abandoned shopping malls, janky laundromats, and condemned insane asylums, getting a bit of shut-eye is harder than it...
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    Pre-order
    Out 27 Oct 2026
  • Set Adrift Upon the World
    Winner of Saltire Scottish History Book of the Year 2016 They would be better dead, they said, than set adrift upon the world. But set adrift they wereโ€”thousands of them, their communities destroyed, their homes demolished and burned. Such were the Sutherland Clearances, an extraordinary episode involving the deliberate depopulation of much of a Scottish county. This was planned and...
    Paperback
    Sold Out

More from History & Military

View all
  • Saving Elli
    One child. Two years in hiding. Three lives in mortal danger. In Nazi-occupied Amsterdam, near Anne Frank's house, another Jewish girl is hidden. Her name is Elli. Her father has been executed at Mauthausen concentration camp. Her mother is fleeing for her life. Elli is next. To save her, resistance couple Frits and Jo Hakkens must risk everything, concealing her...
    Paperback
    $3299
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Spy and the Traitor
    The Spy and the Traitor by Ben Macintyre is a spellbinding Cold War thriller that unravels the true story of Oleg Gordievsky, a KGB double agent who risked everything to aid the British in the battle against Soviet oppression. In meticulously researched detail, Macintyre paints a vivid portrait of espionage, double-crossing, and unparalleled bravery, giving readers a riveting glimpse into...
    Paperback
    $2100
    Elsewhere:
    $2600
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • New Release
    Suicidal Empathy
    The bestselling author of The Parasitic Mind shows why empathy in politics leads to civilizational collapse. What happens when a society elevates victimhood to a virtue and decides that punishment is cruel? You get the disease Dr. Gad Saad calls suicidal empathy. And the West may be terminally infected. In his new book, Suicidal Empathy, Saad unleashes a blistering critique...
    Paperback
    $3099
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Wager
    THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER LONGLISTED FOR THE 2023 BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION 'The beauty of The Wager unfurls like a great sail... one of the finest nonfiction books I've ever read' Guardian 'The greatest sea story ever told' Spectator 'I cannot think of anyone who would not love this book... It is an extraordinary true story, beautifully...
    Paperback
    $2399
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Man's Search For Meaning
    Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl is a profound, thought-provoking memoir and psychological exploration that delves into the harrowing experiences of life in Nazi concentration camps, intertwined with the authorโ€™s groundbreaking theories on existential psychology. The book is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit, offering a beacon of hope and a roadmap for finding purpose...
    Paperback
    $1800
    Elsewhere:
    $2100
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Keep Calm โ€“ We Are Coming
    Keep Calm โ€” We Are Coming briefly backgrounds the New Zealand Special Air Service deployment in Afghanistan โ€” then goes into action. While primarily training Afghan forces, in Kabul the NZSAS had to respond to a series of โ€˜spectacular attacksโ€™ by heavily armed Taliban fighters wearing suicide vests and determined to inflict major casualties. In the words of those who...
    Paperback
    $4000
    Elsewhere:
    $4500
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Discipline
    Silence is complicity, but how do we confront the cost of speaking up? Sydney, May 2021. Ashraf is an academic whose career and personal life are in freefall. Hannah is a young journalist struggling to honour the voices of her community. When a Year 12 Al-Bayinnah College student is arrested for protesting a university's ties to an Israeli weapons manufacturer,...
    Paperback
    $4000
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • New Release
    The Golden Menhir
    Assurancetourix is entering the legendary Gallic bards' competition to win the golden menhir. But with the Romans keeping a close watch, Asterix and Obelix must protect him at all costs. Their mission? Keep him safe-no matter what... even if it means risking their own ears! First released as a book-disc in 1967, this adventure soon became a rare treasure, long...
    Hardback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $3499
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Dad, I Want to Hear Your Story (Deluxe Edition)
    Pre-order
    Dad, I Want to Hear Your Story (Deluxe Edition)
    Capture His Story, Honor His Legacy The Official Hear Your Story Collection Your dad's story is more than just memories-it's a journey filled with wisdom, experiences, and defining moments that shaped his life. Dad, I Want to Hear Your Story is a guided journal that gives him the chance to share those stories in his own words, creating a legacy...
    Hardback
    $4999
    Elsewhere:
    $5500
    Pre-order
    Out 20 Nov 2026
  • Biological War
    New Release
    Biological War
    There is an invisible weapon among us. By the time you know you are a victim, it has turned you into a killer. A blistering new non-fiction thriller from the Baillie Gifford shortlisted author of Nuclear War (200,000 copies sold). A lab accident, a bio-attack, a global pandemic, and the collapse of human society. In this essential new book, based...
    Paperback
    $3299
    Elsewhere:
    $4000
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Shattered Lands
    'A sparkling debut by an outstanding young historian' โ€“ PETER FRANKOPAN 'This book is a revelation โ€ฆ both original and important' โ€“ MISHAL HUSAIN A history of modern South Asia told through five partitions that reshaped it. As recently as 1928, a vast swathe of Asia โ€“ India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Burma, Nepal, Bhutan, Yemen, Oman, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, and...
    Paperback
    $3699
    Elsewhere:
    $4500
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Salt
    Homer called it a divine substance. Plato described it as especially dear to the gods. As Mark Kurlansky so brilliantly relates here, salt has shaped civilisation from the beginning, and its story is a glittering, often surprising part of the history of mankind. Wars have been fought over salt and, while salt taxes secured empires across Europe and Asia, they...
    Paperback
    $3500
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.