Ian Campbell

A TLS International Book of the Year (TLS, Dec 7, 2001) This now-famous book was given a hostile reception when it first appeared in 1824. It was not reprinted until the late 1830s, when a heavily bowdlerised version was included in a posthumous edition of Hogg's collected Tales and Sketches published by Blackie & Son of Glasgow. Thereafter Confessions of a Justified Sinner attracted little interest until the 1890s, when the unbowdlerised text was printed for the first time since the 1820s. However, the current high reputation of Hogg's novel did not fully begin to establish itself until 1947, when a warmly enthusiastic Introduction by Andre Gide appeared in a new edition of the unbowdlerised text. He went on to record how he had read 'this astounding book [!] with a stupefaction and admiration that increased at every page'. Many readers have subsequently shared Gide's enthusiasm, and Confessions of a Justified Sinner is now widely recognised as one of the outstanding British novels of the Romantic era. It has also been acclaimed as one of the defining texts of Scotland, with Iain Crichton Smith recently applauding 'a towering Scottish novel, one of the very greatest of all Scottish books'. Peter Garside's eagerly-awaited new Stirling / South Carolina edition (available in both hardback and paperback) excitingly opens out our understanding of Hogg's masterpiece. Its annotation adds very substantially to the contributions of previous editors, for example by showing various layers of hitherto undetected references. Through an impressive piece of scholarly detective-work, Garside has also uncovered the remarkable story of the first printing of the Justified Sinner and Hogg's battle with his London publishers, Longman, for his subversive and challenging novel to make its first appearance in a form he found satisfactory. This edition provides an illuminating and compelling new account of the genesis of Hogg's masterpiece, and of the cultural, theological, geographical, and historical contexts of this remarkable novel.

This book meets the requirements of the new Modern World History courses and is particularly suitable for use with MEG and SEG syllabuses. The author provides a thorough survey of American political, social and economic history during the inter-war years. Topics include the economic boom years and their impact on rich and poor, the social history of the Roaring Twenties including the role of women and prohibition, the Wall Street Crash and the Depression, Roosevelt and the New Deal, and the build-up to World War Two. The book, which is enquiry-based, is structured around key investigations, background briefings and reviews of the topics covered. Using a wide range of sources and vivid pictorial evidence which help to bring the era to life, the author has produced a text which will be both manageable in extent and motivating to a wide range of students.