The companions of Pickle: Being a sequel to 'Pickle the spy'

In Short

An unsparing historical investigation into the Jacobite movement, this volume examines the network of spies, chieftains, and double agents who surrounded the Bonnie Prince Charles. Moving beyond romantic myth, it explores how betrayal, financial desperation, and systemic corruption dismantled the Cause from within. Through handwriting analysis, private letter-books, and government archives, the work reconstructs the post-1745 Highland underworld. It has lasted as a masterclass in documentary forensics, exposing how personal greed and administrative coercion broke the back of traditional clan society.

The Story

The narrative opens in the prolonged, bitter aftermath of the Jacobite risings, turning a sharp critical lens upon the inner circle of Prince Charles Edward Stuart. Rather than a heroic crusade of undivided loyalties, the reality of the movement is revealed as a chaos of futile counsels, half-hearted foreign promises, and mutual distrust. While the Prince flits incognito across Europe, his agents and supporters in Scotland and abroad fracture into competing factions, each nursing private grievances and seeking personal salvation.

Central to this historical unravelling is the meticulous unmasking of high-ranking Highland figures who operated as double agents. Primary attention rests upon the chief who passed secret intelligence to the Hanoverian government under the codename "Pickle." Through the exhaustive comparison of private letter-books, authentic signatures, and vertical versus sloped handwritings, the evidence relentlessly closes in on Young Glengarry, demonstrating how a prominent chief compromised his own clan to secure royal protection and government funds.

The scope extends to the broader network of companions, opportunists, and tragic victims who inhabited this shadow world. Figures like Col Macdonell of Barisdale—a man of immense physical strength and predatory cunning—embody the sinister side of traditional clan authority, running blackmail rings, levying forced protection money, and ultimately suffering betrayal and imprisonment at the hands of both Jacobites and the Crown. Meanwhile, legitimate figures such as Dr. Archibald Cameron find themselves entangled in accusations regarding missing French gold buried at Loch Arkaig, facing execution while left destitute by the very leaders they served.

As the narrative progresses, it shifts from the individual court intrigues and military miscalculations into the social decay of the Highlands. The old patriarchal system gives way to economic exploitation, where tacksmen strip the common people of their cattle and land, and government informers exploit personal vendendas. By tracing the lives of these figures to their quiet, often squalid ends—in foreign courts, Edinburgh prisons, or lonely exile—the book demonstrates how the Jacobite ideal dissolved not merely through military defeat at Culloden, but through a pervasive decay of trust, honor, and material security.

How It Unfolds

The shadow of treason The investigation begins by re-examining the surviving letters and hidden correspondence surrounding Prince Charles, establishing the pervasive climate of suspicion that doomed his foreign diplomacy and military designs from the start.

The giant of Knoydart Attention turns to Col Macdonell of Barisdale, detailing his rise as a brutal cattle-thief, blackmail operator, and reluctant Jacobite colonel whose shifting allegiances lead to his ultimate imprisonment in France and Edinburgh Castle.

The dispute over the gold The narrative dissects the dark claims surrounding the missing French treasure buried at Loch Arkaig, weighing the tragic fate of Dr. Cameron against the malicious accusations of embezzlement manufactured by rival Highland leaders.

The paper trail closes Through minute forensic analysis of handwriting, letter-books, and state papers, the text compares the unique capital letters and peculiar phrasing of the spy Pickle directly with the personal correspondence of Young Glengarry.

The decay of the glens The focus expands to the impoverished Highland population, illustrating how agrarian poverty, coercive tacksmen, and the destruction of the old clan structures left the region vulnerable to government informers and social ruin.

The final reckonings The narrative concludes by detailing the lonely, scattered ends of the remaining Jacobite conspirators as they bargain for government clemency, write desperate pleas for cash, or drift into quiet obscurity across Europe.

The People

• Prince Charles Edward Stuart: The ambitious yet reckless Stuart claimant whose secret ventures and deep mistrust of his own advisers leave his loyal followers exposed to ruin.
• Young Glengarry (Pickle): A proud Highland chief who secretly sells intelligence to the Hanoverian Ministry, driven by financial desperation and broken promises of government reward.
• Col Macdonell of Barisdale: A massive, formidable chieftain who relies on extortion, physical force, and double-dealing to survive, only to be rejected and imprisoned by both sides.
• Dr. Archibald Cameron: A loyal Jacobite agent falsely accused of stealing French funds, who dies destitute on the scaffold while defending his family's untarnished name.
• The Earl Marischal (George Keith): A handsome, pragmatic veteran of the cause who eventually abandons royalist delusions, taking refuge in the court of Frederick the Great and corresponding with European philosophers.
• John Murray of Broughton: The Prince’s former secretary whose turning of evidence instills widespread panic, forever severing trust among the surviving Scottish conspirators.

In Its Own Voice

"A drop more and I spill all."

When pressed in Rome by an eager priest to convert to Catholicism by accepting the doctrine of the Trinity, the Earl Marischal humorously refuses to overload his fragile religious faith.

"Jean Jacques est trop honête home pour ce monde, qui tâche a tourner en ridicule sa delicatesse."

Writing from London to David Hume, the Earl Marischal defends his eccentric friend Jean-Jacques Rousseau against the mockery of high society.

"All our ammunition being spent, not a single cartridge remained amongst the living or the dead, quarters were called for by the few that were yet alive."

A captured officer vividly recalls the brutal aftermath of battle, lying stripped and wounded on the field while enemy soldiers plunder the dead.

What It's Really About

Beneath the forensic analysis of eighteenth-century documents lies a devastating critique of romanticized history. The book argues that historical movements are rarely undone solely by open battlefield defeat; rather, they rot from within through economic desperation, systemic self-interest, and personal deceit. By pitting traditional notions of Highland honor against cold archival evidence, the text exposes how isolated communities turn upon themselves under the weight of military occupation and financial ruin. It poses difficult questions about loyalty, asking how easily noble ideals disintegrate when survival requires betrayal, and demonstrating that the most damaging blows to a cause are often struck by its own ostensible guardians.

Why Read It Today

This work remains a masterclass in historical detection, perfect for readers who prefer unvarnished historical truth over sentimental folklore. Reading it feels like sitting beside a brilliant, sharp-witted archivist as he unseals long-buried state papers, untangles complex land disputes, and compares suspicious handwritings line by line. What stays with you is the unsparing clarity with which it dismantles popular myths, replacing romanticized visions of clan loyalty with the gritty realities of judicial corruption, poverty, and political espionage.

The reader should be prepared for certain structural challenges. The narrative demands close attention, as it assumes a basic familiarity with the 1745 rising and frequently dives deep into legal land claims, period terminology, and phonetic Highland names. It also presents unedited eighteenth-century letters complete with archaic spellings and non-standard grammar, alongside cold descriptions of period poverty and harsh military justice. Yet for those fascinated by secret histories, political intrigue, and rigorous evidence, it offers an irresistible, deeply grounding tour through the dark side of Jacobite history.