Smoke on the Whiteadder - Paperback

by Dewayne Landwehr (Author)

Winner of the coveted International Impact Book Award in 2025, Smoke on the Whiteadder is a powerful historical novel that captures the chaos, courage, and resilience of 16th-century Scottish peasant life amid relentless political and religious upheaval.
Set in the tumultuous East Borders of Scotland, the story follows the Cowan family, humble tenants on the Edington Estate, as they struggle to survive on a land scorched by centuries-old hostilities between England and Scotland. Raids, scorched earth tactics, and merciless skirmishes sweep through their fields, leaving charred homes and devastated livelihoods in their wake.
When King Henry VIII's dramatic split from the Catholic Church upends the religious order, he plunges two nations into a brutal tug-of-war between Protestantism and Catholicism. With each new monarch comes fresh persecution, and the Cowans-like so many others-find themselves caught in the crossfire of shifting faiths and ferocious power struggles.
Through fire and fear, loyalty and loss, Smoke on the Whiteadder brings to life the unsung endurance of ordinary people whose quiet defiance echoes through history.