This book traces the history of a 30,000-acre Highland estate and its people from after the Jacobite Rebellion in 1745 until the estate was sold to the 5th Duke of Portland in 1857. Using original research and archival sources including first-hand reports, court records, letters and contemporary newspapers, it sheds light on the lives of the crofters, their landlords, the sheep economy, the droving trade and the fishing industry. Langwell provides deep insight into the immense cultural and social changes taking place in the Scottish Highlands during the period.

Langwell is an absorbing story of a Caithness estate,1750-1850. Its review of the key changes of the period undoubtedly adds to the wider debate, but what is particularly well-depicted is the complex network of debt surrounding the estate’s ownership and the book’s success at giving identity to those who managed it. -- Robert A. Dodgshon, Aberystwyth University
This remarkable book will be a landmark text for the history not only of Caithness or the Highlands, but for rural communities across Scotland and globally. It utilises a huge range of primary materials to build a meticulous picture of a society undergoing a series of revolutions in their way of life, and tells that story with excitement and creativity from multiple perspectives. An absolutely essential read. -- Annie Tindley, Newcastle University
Based on extensive archival research, Langwell explores a period of profound change and traces its impact on local communities. Wide-ranging and thoroughly grounded in the broader context, it encompasses impecunious lairds, grasping lawyers, links to slavery, clearance, famine, and social conflict. The book throws new light on a distinctive part of the Highlands. -- Malcolm Bangor-Jones, author of 'From Clanship to Crofting' and 'The Coming of the Great Sheep'

Michael Moss was emeritus professor of archival science at the University of Northumbria, he was previously research professor in archival studies at the University of Glasgow. He served as archivist of the University from 1974 to 2003. He was educated at the University of Oxford and trained in the Bodleian Library and was Miegunyah Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the University of Melbourne in 2015. He wrote numerous books including The 'Magnificent Castle' of Culzean and the Kennedy Family, 2002, The Making of Scotch Whisky, 2000; The Building of Europe’s Largest Mutual Life Company – Standard Life, 1825-2000, 2000. Michael Moss died in 2021. William Parente graduated from Oxford with a First in English and went on to do research in Shakespeare’s comedies, later working in theatre and writing the Scotsman’s film column from 1980-92. With Yves Bonavero he set up Bonaparte Films in 1990 to finance small British features including Waking Ned and William Boyd’s The Trench. His ancestor the 5th Duke of Portland (the ‘mole’) acquired Langwell in 1854. He lives in Nottinghamshire and Caithness.