Adam Scott, King of Thieves

I had a lot of fun inventing Will Baird, the charismatic anti-hero of The Dance of Vipers. Obviously, he’s a fictional character – part magician, part trickster, part philosopher, part thief. But I did draw on various real-life reivers, to bring him to life. For instance, I researched figures like the wonderfully named ‘Fingerless Will Nixon’ and gangs like ‘Sandy’s Bairns’, who were active at this time and had some of the chutzpah I was after. I also looked at figures like Richie Graham (who escaped from Carlisle Castle by jumping out of the privy chute) and Jock o’ the Peartree (who kidnapped a sheriff’s child for ransom, by scooping him onto his horse, with the words “Master, will ye ride?”). I’m sure you’ll recognise all these elements, if you’ve read the book.

But the historical figure I channelled most was a chap called Adam Scott of Tushielaw. This villain operated out of Ettrick Forest in the years after Flodden – just like my creation. In truth, he was a pretty violent character, and was involved in several murders, burnings and other rackets before being captured and executed in 1530. But there was a larger-than-life quality to him that was summed up by his nickname: ‘the king of thieves’. I liked the swagger which that exuded and wondered what might happen if I pushed that to an extreme. The answer was a robber who was so confident of his abilities that he didn’t need to hurt his victims. Someone with a mesmerising self-confidence, who would back themselves to get out of any tricky situation and make off with whatever prize he fancied.

A ‘thief of kings’ perhaps?