This double volume covers Naomi Mitchison's Edwardian childhood in Oxford and Scotland, as well as the development of her very personal thoughts and ideas during her teenage years as she grew to womanhood.

James Graham, Fifth Earl of Montrose, is considered to be one of the most controversial and romantic figures in Scottish history. This biography aims to show that he was constant in his beliefs and heroic in his principled moderation in spite of the historic evidence of his cruelty.