George MacDonald Fraser wrote <em>The Candlemass Road</em> after completing his researchand writing <em>The Steel Bonnets</em>, his nonfiction account of the Anglo-Scottishborder Reivers. Young Lady Margaret Dacre was brought up in the genteelfashion at the court of Queen Elizabeth I. When her father is murdered, sheinherits his lands in the English West March and is plunged into a world whereviolence and raiding are commonplace. Fraser&rsquo;s characters are, as always, richlydeveloped through vivid descriptions and witty dialogues. His novel is true to thespirit of the Anglo-Scottish frontier feud.