The Rest Is History Episode 652: London’s Golden Age: The Ghosts of Culloden (Part 3) Hosted by Tom Holland & Dominic Sandbrook Aired: March 16, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode finds Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook tracing Samuel Johnson and James Boswell on their momentous 1773 journey through the Scottish Highlands and Hebrides, set against the ghostly aftermath of the Battle of Culloden and the political reverberations of the Act of Union. The hosts unpack the juxtaposition of romantic nostalgia for the “Old Scotland,” the harsh realities of societal change, and the shifting identities in 18th-century Britain, exploring how this legendary literary tour became a window into the final echoes of Jacobite Scotland.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Scene: Johnson and Boswell's Journey Begins

• Intro to the Journey: The duo set off from Edinburgh on August 18, 1773, embarking on what would be one of history's most celebrated travels.
• Johnson’s Perspective: Johnson, the quintessential Londoner, is characterized as an unlikely explorer, kitted out like a comic Englishman—brown suit, large coat, boots, oak stick and pistols (08:09). Boswell describes Johnson's presence as bordering on the gigantic and eccentric.
• Edinburgh’s Reaction: Johnson is met as a sensation among Edinburgh’s social elite, further establishing the cultural distinction between England, Lowland Scotland, and the remote Highlands (06:12).

2. Political Tensions: Act of Union and Jacobitism

• Act of Union 1707: Tom and Dominic discuss the continued rawness of the Anglo-Scottish union, with Johnson and Boswell bantering publicly about Scottish independence (12:22).
• Mary Queen of Scots Reference: Johnson argues, “Sir, never talk of your independency. Who could let your queen remain 20 years in captivity... such a queen too.” (12:27)
• Culloden and Jacobite Melancholy: The shadow of the failed 1745 Jacobite uprising and the romantic lost cause of Bonnie Prince Charlie loom large—fueling the mythic undercurrent of the trip (15:37).

3. Romantic Tour or Historical Inquiry?

• Route Selection: Rather than taking the direct westward path, Johnson and Boswell travel north via Inverness—mirroring Bonnie Prince Charlie’s retreat (20:20).
• A Jacobite Tour: “Do you think it is a sort of a Jacobite tour for them?... I think so, yes.” (20:28)

4. Encounters and Impressions Along the Way

• Edinburgh, St Andrews, Aberdeen: Johnson admires aspects of Lowland Scotland—the architecture, enlightenment thinkers—but laments the visible decline in places like St Andrews (22:40).
• Wildness and Romanticism: Johnson seeks the “wilderness” and “peculiar manners” absent in England, relishing Scotland’s untamed landscapes (25:30).
• Boswell’s Morbidity: Boswell’s fascination with mortality (inspecting a hanged highwayman) and his method of handling existential dread become recurring themes (27:20).

5. Banter and Friction: The Human Side

• Comic Misunderstandings: Johnson’s struggles, from horseback riding anxieties to being called a “macaroni,” provide levity but also illuminate his discomfort outside London (24:15).
• Row Over Ridicule: The pair’s relationship comes under strain when Boswell laughs at Johnson’s indignity during a pony mishap; Johnson bristles at having his dignity undermined (45:18).

6. Romance Meets Reality: Disillusionment with Clan Chiefs

• Visit to Sir Alexander MacDonald (47:43):
  • Johnson and Boswell are disappointed by the drab hospitality, lack of clan spectacle, and Lady MacDonald’s underwhelming demeanor—“This woman would sink a 90-gun ship. She is so dull and heavy.” (48:32)
  • Boswell is mortified for Scotland’s reputation; Johnson instead sees broader historical forces at play.

7. Highland Transformation & The Weight of Change

• Johnson’s Reflections: Muses on the impact of the Union and Culloden—Scotland is becoming richer, more commercial, yet the Highlands are emptied and old ways vanish:
  • “We came thither too late to see what we expected, a people of peculiar appearance and a system of antiquated life.” (50:35)
  • Chiefs have become rapacious landlords; old clan society is dissolving (51:54).
• Parallels to the American Plains: The erasure of Highland traditions likened to the vanishing world of Plains Indians post-colonization (53:40).

8. Moments of Romantic Fulfilment

• Famed Encounters: Staying with Flora MacDonald—who helped Bonnie Prince Charlie escape—Johnson sleeps in the Prince’s bed, to Boswell’s delight: “To see Mr. Samuel Johnson salute Ms. Flora MacDonald was a wonderful romantic scene to me.” (57:25)
• The Holy Isle of Iona: Johnson is profoundly moved by the ruins—“Man is little to be envied, whose patriotism would not gain force up plain of Marathon, or whose piety would not grow warmer among the ruins of Iona.” (58:27)

9. Memorable Anecdotes & Quotes

• Johnson’s Kangaroo Impression: In Inverness, Johnson mimics a kangaroo to the amusement of all: “He stood erect, put out his hands like feelers... made two or three vigorous bounds across the room.” (33:32)
• On Highland Decline: “Misery is caused, for the most part, not by a heavy crush of disaster, but by the corrosion of less visible evils which canker enjoyment and undermine security.” (54:07)
• Boswell’s Self-Analysis: “The very Highland names, or the sound of a bagpipe will stir my blood and fill me with a mixture of melancholy and respect, for courage and pity, for an unfortunate and superstitious regard for antiquity, an inclination for war without thought, and, in short, with a crowd of sensations.” (43:40)

10. Conflict at Affleck and Literary Legacy

• Affleck Showdown: A climactic familial and ideological clash erupts between Johnson and Boswell’s father over the execution of Charles I—"Lord Affleck is much more impressed by the execution and says that it reminds kings that they have vertebrae in their necks." (63:33)
• The Rival Biographer: Boswell senses a threat to his “ultimate ambition”—a Johnson biography—posed by a mysterious Welsh woman. The episode ends on this tantalizing note, segueing into the next installment (65:47).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Scotland’s Remoteness:
  “...to most Lowlanders, they are as familiar with the Hebrides as they were with Borneo or Sumatra.” (04:08, Tom Holland)

• Johnson on Ridicule:
  “Sir, I shall ride better than you. I was only afraid I should not find a horse able to carry me.” (24:24, Tom Holland)

• Boswell After Culloden Vets Meeting:
  “[He] finds himself in tears and goes off on a kind of massive Scottish patriotism jag.” (43:40, Tom Holland)

• On Disappointment at Sleat:
  “This woman would sink a 90-gun ship. She is so dull and heavy.” (48:32, Tom Holland, quoting Johnson)

• On Grueling Change:
  “The chief has lost his formidable retinue and the Highlander walks his heath unarmed and defenceless with the peaceable submission of a French peasant or English cottager.” (51:54, Tom Holland, quoting Johnson)

• On the True Purpose of the Trip:
  “This is truly the patriarchal life. This is what we came to find.” (56:43, Tom Holland, quoting Johnson on Rassay)

• On Iona:
  “Man is little to be envied, whose patriotism would not gain force up plain of Marathon, or whose piety would not grow warmer among the ruins of Iona.” (58:27, Tom Holland, quoting Johnson)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [05:37] Arrival in Edinburgh; English and Scottish perceptions
• [09:13] Johnson’s missed travel ambitions; The Rothermere anecdote
• [12:22] Discussion of the Act of Union and heated banter
• [15:37] Jacobitism, Culloden, and the romantic lure of Bonnie Prince Charlie
• [22:40] St Andrews and marks of Scottish Reformation
• [25:30] Johnson’s search for wildness and “peculiar manners”
• [33:32] Johnson’s kangaroo impression
• [36:38] The road to Loch Ness; the legend and the reality
• [43:40] Meeting a veteran of Culloden; Boswell’s patriotic fervor
• [45:18] The row about the pony and ridicule
• [47:43] The disappointment at the home of Clan MacDonald
• [50:35] Broader reflections on Highland change and loss
• [54:07] The slow ‘corrosion’ of Highland society
• [57:25] The encounter with Flora MacDonald
• [58:27] Iona and Johnson’s emotional reaction
• [63:33] Explosion over Charles I at Affleck
• [65:47] The reveal of Boswell’s rival biographer

Tone & Language

• The hosts blend scholarly insight with warm, humorous, and self-aware banter, akin to Boswell’s own literary style.
• They often shift from detailed historic analysis to modern parallels, maintaining a lively and accessible tone.

Summary & Flow

This episode is a sweeping, vivid narrative of travel, nostalgia, and national identity, interspersed with wit, personal drama, and poignant historical reflection. Through their playful yet forensic unpacking of Johnson and Boswell’s journey, Tom and Dominic illuminate the final sunset of traditional Highland society, the enduring power of romantic myth, and the birth of modern travel writing. The episode’s close teases future intrigue with Boswell’s literary rivalry—a classic Rest Is History cliffhanger.