Scotland's Books: A History of Scottish LiteratureFrom Treasure Island to Trainspotting, Scotland's rich literary tradition has influenced writing across centuries and cultures far beyond its borders. Here, for the first time, is a single volume presenting the glories of fifteen centuries of Scottish literature. In Scotland's Books the much loved poet Robert Crawford tells the story of Scottish imaginative writing and its relationship to the country's history. Stretching from the medieval masterpieces of St. Columba's Iona - the earliest surviving Scottish work - to the energetic world of twenty-first-century writing by authors such as Ali Smith and James Kelman, this outstanding account traces the development of literature in Scotland and explores the cultural, linguistic and literary heritage of the nation. It includes extracts from the writing discussed to give a flavor of the original work, and its new research ranges from specially made translations of ancient poems to previously unpublished material from the Scottish Enlightenment and interviews with living writers. Informative and readable, this is the definitive single-volume guide to the marvelous legacy of Scottish literature. |
Contents
| 1 | |
| 21 | |
2 Liberty | 63 |
3 Reformation | 115 |
4 The Staggering State | 163 |
5 Ever Green | 229 |
6 The Scottish Enlightenment | 269 |
7 The Age of Burns | 329 |
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Common terms and phrases
A. L. Kennedy Aberdeen admired Alexander auld ballads Barrie Barrie’s British Buchanan Burns’s Carlyle celebrated century Classical contemporary David Derick Thomson Douglas drama early Edinburgh University Edinburgh University Press edition Edwin Morgan England English Fergusson Gaelic Galt George George Buchanan Glasgow Highland Hogg Hogg’s Hugh MacDiarmid Hume Ibid imaginative James James Kelman James’s John Kailyard Kathleen Jamie Kelman King Kirk language later Latin Library lives London Lowland MacDiarmid Mackenzie MacLean medieval modern Muir Muriel Spark narrative novel novelist Ossian Oxford PBSV play poem poet’s poetic poetry political present prose published quoted Ramsay readers Robert Burns Robert Crawford Scotland Scots Scottish culture Scottish Enlightenment Scottish fiction Scottish literary Scottish literature Scottish poets Scottish writers sense Smith Smollett sometimes song Sorley MacLean St Andrews St Andrews University Stevenson story Thomas Thomson tradition translation vernacular verse Walter Scott William women words writing written wrote