Bruce, Duncan A. 1932–

views updated

BRUCE, Duncan A. 1932–

PERSONAL: Born 1932, in Pittsburgh, PA; wife's name, Tamara; children: two. Education: University of Pennsylvania, graduate of Wharton School.

ADDRESSES: Home—New York, NY. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Truman Talley Books/St. Martin's Press, 175 5th Ave., New York, NY 10010. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Banker and writer.

AWARDS, HONORS: Recipient of arms, Lyon's Court of Scotland.

WRITINGS:

The Mark of the Scots: Their Astonishing Contributions to History, Science, Democracy, Literature, and the Arts, Carol Publishing Group (Secaucus, NJ), 1996.

The Scottish One Hundred: Portraits of History's Most Influential Scots, Carroll & Graf (New York, NY), 2000.

The Great Scot: A Novel of Robert the Bruce, Scotland's Legendary Warrior King, Truman Talley Books (New York, NY), 2004.

Editor, Pibroch magazine.

SIDELIGHTS: Of Scottish descent, Duncan A. Bruce has explored his ancestry in both works of nonfiction and fiction. In The Mark of the Scots: Their Astonishing Contributions to History, Science, Democracy, Literature, and the Arts, he documents Scottish achievement, including Scottish influence in the formation of the United States and its governance, particularly in the early presidential administrations. In The Scottish One Hundred: Portraits of History's Most Influential Scots, Bruce, who is among a select number of American recipients of arms from Scotland's Lyon Court, studies the lives of important Scottish figures. One notable Scot Bruce is personally tied to is Sir Edward Bruce, brother of Robert the Bruce. Bruce characterizes his most notable ancestor in his 2004 historical novel The Great Scot: A Novel of Robert the Bruce, Scotland's Legendary Warrior King.

Robert the Bruce was given Scottish lands after crossing the channel with William the Conqueror. Bruce's story is told through the memoirs of David Crawford, who became Robert's page after he witnessed the older man's murder of Red Comyn in 1306. David is there when Robert is crowned king of Scotland, and when he returns after seeking safety in Ireland while being hunted by England's King Edward I. Robert's defeat of Edward's army at the Battle of Loudoun Hill puts the English on the defensive. Edward II continues to wage war after the death of his father, but with Robert's 1314 victory at the Battle of Bannockburn, the English finally recognize Scotland as a separate nation in the Treaty of Northampton. Legitimized as claimant to the throne of Scotland, Robert the Bruce reigns peacefully for many years and ultimately dies in bed.

In a review of The Great Scot, a Kirkus Reviews contributor described Bruce's narration as "rather clunky," but qualified that criticism by noting that "history is everything here, so if you are a Scot or a Scotophile, you will not be the least bit disappointed."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, July, 2004, June Sawyers, review of The Great Scot: A Novel of Robert the Bruce, Scotland's Legendary Warrior King, p. 1816.

Economist, July 19, 1997, review of The Mark of the Scots: Their Astonishing Contributions to History, Science, Democracy, Literature, and the Arts, p. S14.

Kirkus Reviews, June 15, 2004, review of The Great Scot, p. 549.