This is the classic history by the acclaimed expert on Scottish history of the battle of Culloden, and is part of the multi volume set by John Prebble on Scottish history.

The book begins in the rain at five o’clock on the morning of Wednesday, 16 April 1746, when the Royal Army marched out of Nairn to fight the clans on Culloden Moor. This is the story of the battle and of what followed, the destruction of a way of life and the persecution of a people. It is the story not of Bonnie Prince Charlie but of ordinary men and women involved in the Rebellion, who were described on the gaol registers and regimental rosters of the time as “Common Men.” The book recalls them by name and action, presenting the battle as it was for them, describing their life as fugitives in the glens or as prisoners in the gaols, their transportation to the Virginias or their deaths on the gallows.

The battle of Culloden was, more or less, the last gasp of Scottish independence from the crushing weight of English imperialism. "Bonnie Prince Charlie" offered a hope of returned independence for the more or less feudal Highland clans of Scotland and led them on a short but impressive "invasion" of England, which shortly thereafter turned into a retreat, and ultimately a crushing, bloody defeat at the battle of Culloden.

The British, under the management of "Butcher Cumberland" used this as an excuse to exterminate ruthlessly the Highlanders, which they did over the next two years. Prebble tells this whole story brilliantly, especially because his focus is not on the grand exploits of kings and princes, but on the experience of the common people and especially the common soldier.

The Fire and Sword Trilogy is about the fall of the Scottish clan system. Culloden was the first book and it chronicles the defeat of the clans in one pivotal battle. The two other works were The Highland Clearances (1963) and Glencoe (1966). Glencoe was a study of the causes and effects of the Glencoe massacre in 1692, when British soldiers and members of the Campbell Clan attacked and killed members of Clan Donald who lived in Glencoe, a remote glen in the west highlands of Scotland. The book focuses on the political machinations to bring the unruly MacDonalds to heel, both by King William and by Scots with ambitions in royal circles. The massacre was notorious, both then and now, for the Campbells had abused the hospitality of the MacDonalds who had given them food and lodgings for several days before.

His later works, Mutiny (1975) and The King's Jaunt (1988) would extend the theme. The Highland Clearances remains one of his best known works perhaps because the subject of the Highland clearances as a discrete historical event remains a subject of debate. The clearances caused the depopulation of large areas of the highlands, and force was often used to remove the crofters from their houses and lands. Prebble makes a case that there was a conscious effort to remove Highlanders and Islanders from Scotland. Others argue that it was purely economic and social factors which led to the population decline in rural Scotland.