What a breath of fresh air this book is after all the dreck I’ve read on Freemasonry in recent years! The author is curator of the Scottish Masonic Museum and Library at Freemason’s Hall in Edinburgh. This means he knows what he’s talking about, and isn’t bound by the party line of the United Grand Lodge in London, who still seem to try to pretend that Freemasonry was created there in 1717. Cooper spends his first few chapters giving convincing evidence of Freemasonry’s Scottish origins.

He excels at putting rewriters of history in their place. From the early 18th century onwards, Freemasonry has given itself the most glorious historical heritage, most of which is bunkum.