Ross Laidlaw (born 5 May 1931) is a Scottish writer of historical, thriller and spy fiction.
Biography Laidlaw was born in Aberdeen and now lives in Dunbar, East Lothian. He attended the University of Cambridge and gained his degree from the University of Edinburgh.
He met his wife Margaret (née Corby) while working at Dolphin School, near Newark in Nottinghamshire, where she was the matron and he was a master. They became engaged in Cambridge and were married on 7 September 1962 at the Corstorphine Old Parish Church in Edinburgh. The couple have a son and daughter.
Laidlaw has spent time working and traveling in southern Africa.
In 1979, while working as a geography and history teacher at Belhaven Hill School near Dunbar, Laidlaw's first book was released, the political thriller novel The Lion Is Rampant, receiving significant praise. He has since released five more books with the most recent being Justinian: The Sleepless One which was released in 2010.
Works by Ross Laidlaw The Lion Is Rampant (1979) () – originally published by Molendinar Press, it is a political thriller novel set in Scotland during the 1980s. The Linton Porcupine (1984) () – originally published by Littlehampton Book Services, the story is set in 16th-century Scotland and is written as the journal of Nicholas Wainwright who has been sent to find a weapon that is being created by the Scots. Aphra Behn: Dispatch'd from Athole (1992) () – originally published by Balnain Books, the story is set in 17th-century Britain and tells of Aphra Behn's journal which details her mission to Scotland as a spy. Attila: The Scourge of God (2004) () – originally published by Polygon Books, the story is set in 5th-century Europe and centers around Attila the Hun and Aetius who are in battle with each other for the fate of their empires. Theoderic (2008) () – originally published by Polygon Books, the story is set in 5th-century Europe during a time when the Western Roman Empire has been left in ruins, and centers around Theodoric the Goth who rises to a status equal of Roman Emperors. Justinian (2010) () – originally published by Polygon Books, the historical-fiction novel follows the life of Justinian I, an emperor of the Byzantine Empire.
See also
List of historical novelists List of people from Aberdeen List of Scottish novelists List of thriller writers List of University of Cambridge people List of University of Edinburgh people
References
External links Ross Laidlaw at Birlinn Limited