The Scottish Marco Polo Inspiration for “The Man Who Would Be King”
The Scottish Marco Polo
Inspiration for “The Man Who Would Be King”
I first came across Alexander Gardner in a novel by the great Scottish writer George MacDonald Fraser, who I once had the fortune to meet. Gardner was a larger than life figure dressed head to toe in the tartan of the79 Highland Regiment, including a tartan turban with an egret’s feather on top.
An Unlikely Hero
Gardiner was a scarred scallywag a man not easily missed who was in service to the Sikh rulers of far off land. Like the MacDonald Fraser ‘hero’ Flashman, Gardner wrote his memoirs late in life and they were always regarded as almost a fictional as Flashman’s. But now it comes to pass that much of the bragging and tale spinning may be true.
Fresh Evidence
Now a Scottish historian who spent years researching in India and Pakistan has revealed in a new book that Gardner can take his rightful place as one of the greatest explorers of the 19th century, one whose travels are comparable to that of Marco Polo. And yes Gardner inspired Rudyard Kipling to write the “Man Who Would be King,” later made into a film by John Huston starring our very own Sean Connery.
A Tartan Turban
Gardner was meant to have filled chest after chest with booty, but his riches have never surfaced. He sent a girl child to school in England and paid her an annual allowance, which continued after his death in 1877, but wily Indian bankers prevented her from ever finding the treasure trove most believed he owned. The story of the Tartan Turban is out this year and I won’t for one miss it.
And Don’t Miss These
If you want something that will stand the test of time try the terrific range of paperweights from our good friends at Caithness. They might have made the ‘Mastermind’ trophy for the BBC, but they made these specially for you all.
