The Eagle and the Rose

THE EAGLE AND THE ROSE is a historical novel which begins in Scotland in 1826 with a meeting of engineers, lawyers and investors discussing the invention of the steam engine and the building of the railroad. It is the first book in THE AMERICAN EAGLE SERIES. In THE EAGLE AND THE ROSE, Tom McCallum, a young lawyer who is well thought of - and his firm are interested in the potential and implications of linking vast tracts of land, via the new steam locomotive. Their enthusiasm builds...
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THE EAGLE AND THE ROSE is a historical novel which begins in Scotland in 1826 with a meeting of engineers, lawyers and investors discussing the invention of the steam engine and the building of the railroad. It is the first book in THE AMERICAN EAGLE SERIES. In THE EAGLE AND THE ROSE, Tom McCallum, a young lawyer who is well thought of - and his firm are interested in the potential and implications of linking vast tracts of land, via the new steam locomotive. Their enthusiasm builds when local investors become interested in the financial possibilities associated with building a viable transcontinental railway system, not only in Scotland but in America, where many of the investors have interests. Sheila McDonald, a young noble woman, falls in love with Tom McCallum but is discouraged in her affections by her father and jealous fiancé. She is forbidden to associate with Tom McCallum on a social level by her mother and forbidden by her father to even consider the possibility of marriage. Heartbroken, she escapes her suites and seeks him out on a stormy summer night. Tom, unable to stand another day living without him, Sheila confesses her love for him. Tom admits that his feelings for her are just as passionate, but he could never give her the life she deserves. Sheila reassures him that being with him is enough. They elope, boarding a ship, The Lady of the Lake, which is prepared to set sail for America carrying on board a prototype of a steam engine designed and built in England, that is to be used to test the viability of the steam locomotive on tracks scheduled to be built by a syndicate, led by a signer of the Declaration of Independence, Charles Carrol, in Baltimore, Maryland. The couple are followed by Sheila McDonald's father, her fiancé and the Scottish Navy, bent on bringing Lady McDonald back to Scotland and arresting Tom. It's a desperate race to build the railroad and flee their pursuers as the two struggle to fulfil their dream of being together and build a life in America.