The Glen Nevis Rose: Author event on 18th November 2025

Last week we were delighted to welcome back to HighlandLIT Vee Walker, the Black-Isle based author, short-story writer and editor, accompanied by her co-author for this particular project, Ewen Cameron of Glen Nevis House. They introduced us to their remarkable new publication - The Glen Nevis Rose. Vee and Ewen spoke both about the book and the remarkable story it tells, and about the process of giving it birth.

‘The Glen Nevis Rose’ focuses on the Cameron family of Lochaber, who lived in Ewen's beautiful current home, the bitter aftermath of Culloden, a cherished pink rose with vicious thorns known as ‘Great Maiden’s Blush’, and a determined and courageous woman, Lady Mary Cameron of Glen Nevis House.

The rose had been planted by Mary’s mother, also Mary, in the circular garden at Glen Nevis House in the years before 1746, and it survived when the house was looted and burned following the battle. In 1754 Lady Mary married John Cameron, a survivor of the battle, and began a large family.

The two decades following Culloden were difficult for Highlanders involved and their descendants, as a result of government reprisals. Many in Lochaber began to look west to the New World and to a new beginning. In 1773 Lady Mary, her husband and their children joined this exodus, sailing from Fort William to New York in a fine ship, The Pearl, which was largely filled with members of the MacDonell clan from Glengarry who had arranged to crossing.

And Lady Mary took her mother's beloved rose.

On arrival, the immigrants were given a civic reception in New York City, and the Camerons settled in the Mohawk Valley, building a house, beginning to clear land, and planting the precious ‘Great Maiden’s Blush’. But then came the American Revolution (or ‘War of Independence’, depending on your perspective) and once again John Cameron found himself caught up in conflict.

It's a supreme irony that having fought against the Hanoverian army in Scotland at Culloden, John now found himself contending for King George against the rebels. The Cameron family were again in great danger, and felt compelled to relocate once again, this time north to Canada. And cuttings of the rose went with them. This is a fascinating and detailed story of a resilient woman, a resilient family, a resilient rose.

And the story of the rose comes full circle, when Ewen enabled a UK firm to source stock of ‘Great Maiden’s Blush’ from Canada. The bushes are now widely sold in Britain. And from them were sourced the beautiful rose bushes which grow back at Glen Nevis House today.

Initially, Ewen’s plan was simply to produce a simple pamphlet telling the story of the Camerons and the rose, but he soon realised that the story deserved fuller treatment. The resulting book, a very attractive, copiously-illustrated publication, includes careful research on every aspect of the story and will be a popular purchase among Highland visitors for many years to come.

Non-fiction sections are accompanied by short fictional recreations focusing on Lady Mary: these give life and immediacy to the family’s various crises and allow for some authorial speculation.

Vee emphasized that producing a book of this nature is very much a collaboration. Ewen and Vee were jointly responsible for the words (and what fun they had – Vee describes the project as a ‘happy collaboration’ and mentions with a smile ‘the battle of the semi-colons’). Vee and Ewen were able to source and check their information from a wide range of historians, museums and archives. The book was designed by Colin MacConnachie of Hoopoe Design, and the photographs of the rose are by Alex Trowski.

Authors too need resilience. Vee mentioned the challenges of making a living as a professional writer in the 2020. Something is out of kilter, she said, when an author cannot survive on selling books alone. She enjoys supplementing her income with copywriting and editing, and occasional contract or commission work such as the Glen Nevis Rose project is ‘the most wonderful thing’, especially when a collaborative effort.

We are so grateful to Vee for giving her time to prepare and deliver (and on the night of a certain crucial World Cup qualifier!) such a warm-hearted presentation of this fascinating story, and to Ewen for sharing his personal insights. Many, many thanks!

‘The Glen Nevis Rose’ costs £10.00 and is currently available from the smaller bookshops in the Highlands, including AbleKids Press Bookshop at 10-12 Market Brae Steps, Inverness, IV2 3AB, UK (open Tuesdays – Saturdays 10am – 4pm). You can also arrange to send a copy anywhere in the world by emailing Ewen's team at rose@glen-nevis.co.uk.