Network North

Reviews / Votes

'...this is a good book, especially on religious and political aspects of the Scottish diaspora. It has interesting things to say about a wide range of topics, including identity, espionage, and 'credit' (in all senses of the word. The international perspective in both archival sources and secondary reading is exemplary. Written in a livlier and more informal style [...] Murdoch's book is a readable and thoroughly worthwhile contribution to Scottish, British and Scandinavian History.'
R. A. Houston, Economic History Society, LIX, 2 (2006)
'This book is more ambitious than the title suggests. It comprises the most extensive monograph survey of Scottish expatriate activity in post-Reformation Europe that has been attempted to date and, more generally. A significant reassessment of religious, economic and political aspects of the country's history during the early modern period. [...] This is a very impressive, groundbreaking book, enjoyable to read, and one which should be a required text for undergraduate and postgraduate students of early modern Scottish history, and for those concerned with the web of connections linking the Stuart and early Hanovarian kingdoms to the Baltic and North Sea regions.'
David Worthington, English Historical Review, cxxi, 491, April 2006
'There are no doubts that Steve Murdoch's book is a real milestone in research in Scottish, British and European history. Our knowledge of the inner workings of both the emigration from Scotland and Scottish commercial activity has been significantly enriched. ... In short, the author has done excellent work to explain how a small nation from the outskirts of Europe so significantly influenced its early modern epoch. Last but not least, the book is not only insightful, but well written and entertaining to read.'
Waldemar Kowalski, Odrodzenie i Reformacja w Polsce, 2006 and also History Scotland, vol. 6, no.1, Jan/Feb 2006
'A recent trickle of books linked to the 1707 Union will doubtless become a flood next year when the tercentenary is marked. Despite much over-hyping, however, none of those so far published can match Steve Murdoch's Network North: Scottish Kin, Commercial and Covert Associations in Northern Europe 1603-1746 (Brill GBP100), a truly path-breaking study of Scotland's long-standing forgotten links with the continent and a wonderful example of what can be achieved by several years of sustained research in home and overseas archives.
Tom Devine, The Herald, 2 December 2006. Review of the books of the year.