The Word of a Gentleman his wife Nora are the focus of many chapters (and the book opens with a quotation from Oscar Wilde's "The Ballad of Reading Gaol"); these reflect Niesewand's detention by Desmond Lardner-Burke under P. K. van der Byl and Smith, and his subsequent deportation, leaving behind his wife of three years, Nonie Niesewand (née Fogarty). The Word of a Gentleman The Word of a Gentleman (1981) (later retitled "Undercut") was the third of five novels written by Peter Niesewand, the South African journalist who spent 73 days in solitary confinement for his coverage of Ian Smith's government in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe).
The Battle of Otterburn (ballad) The Battle of Otterburn (ballad) "The Battle of Otterburn" (or "Otterbourne") is a Scottish ballad, catalogued as Child Ballad 161, Roud 3293. It is an account of the Scottish victory at the Battle of Otterburn in 1388. This battle also inspired "The Ballad of Chevy Chase", an English version, but the Scottish version is more historically accurate. The lead verse of the ballad is: "It fell about the Lammas tide, <br>"When the muir-men win their hay, <br>"The doughty Earl of Douglas rode <br>"Into England, to catch a prey." James, 2nd Earl of Douglas who led the raid was mortally wounded