The untold story of Lady Grisell Baillie – Mistress of Mellerstain – has been brought together in what Flora Fraser calls ‘a spellbinding portrait of a captivating women’.

BUY your copy here - Lady Grisell Baillie – Mistress of Mellerstain.

The biography tells the story of Lady Grisell Baillie née Hume who is credited with rebuilding Mellerstain House, a stunning stately home in the Scottish Borders, at the turn of the 17th century.

‘Lady Grisell Baillie- Mistress of Mellerstain’ was written by Lesley Abernethy a tour guide at Mellerstain who draws skilfully on Baillie family papers, including Lady Grisell’s household accounts and letters to create a detailed account of Lady Grisell’s long and eventful life. The book is illustrated with 32 pages of photographs taken by George Haddington.

Lesley had unprecedented access to the archives of Mellerstain which document the affairs of the Baillie family and Earls of Haddington dating back to the 16th Century.

The lifetime of Grisell Baillie marks a particularly colourful period in Scottish history, in which the family became fatally embroiled. In the 17th century religious authority and political power were still inseparable, and the Covenanters, whose ranks included the Baillies and Humes, fought against the Anglican and subsequently Catholic monarchy, for the spiritual independence of the Scottish Presbyterian Church.

In the 18th century Grisell’s family found their friendships divided by the Jacobite uprisings, but remained loyal to the Hanoverian succession. Against this noisy backdrop, Lesley has been able to distinguish Grisell’s remarkable story.

Lady Grisell Baillie - Mistress of Mellerstain is now available to purchase through Troubador for £11.99 (hardcopy) and £5.99 (ebook).

Video produced by Clearstream Films in association with RareBird Media. jamie at clearstreamcomms.com.