`The Scots', said a censorious English member of Parliament in 1607, `have not suffered above two kings to die in their beds these two hundred years.'

He may have exaggerated, but undeniably Scotland has a rough and bloodstained history. It is a complex one, too, but Sir Fitzroy Maclean disentangles the threads and enlivens his brisk account with wit and scholarship. Pictures from contemporary sources illuminate his story - its romantic figures and bloody battles, its politics and religion - and provide a rich visual record of Scotland's art, craftsmanship and intellectual life.

This revised edition of Maclean's classic work, with a new chapter by Magnus Linklater, brings the story of Scotland right up to date, examining how the Scots identity is faring in the wake of the first Scottish Parliament in nearly 300 years.