No writer has ever been as famous as Sir Walter Scott once was; and no writer has ever enjoyed such huge acclaim followed by such absolute neglect and outright hostility. But Scotland would not be Scotland except for Scott. All the icons of Scottishness have their roots in Scott's novels, poems, public events and histories. It's a legacy both inspiring and constraining, and just one of the ironies that fuse Scott and Scotland into Scott-land.

In this book Stuart Kelly reveals Scott the paradox: the celebrity unknown, the nationalist unionist, the aristocrat loved by communists, the forward-looking reactionary. Part literary study, part biography, part travelogue, part surreptitious autobiography, Scott-land unveils a complex, contradictory man and the complex contradictory country he created. Insightful, accessible, witty and melancholy, this is a 'voyage around my fatherland' like no other.

About the Author

Stuart Kelly was raised in the Scottish Borders and studied English at Balliol College Oxford, gaining a first class degree and a Master of Studies. He was the Literary Editor of Scotland on Sunday and is now a freelance critic and writer.

Reviews

'In a smart, refreshingly uncynical book, Kelly examines Scott, Scotland and himself in an intelligent, lively analysis of a great small country'

-- Ian Finlayson * The Times *

'A lovely piece of work - the best book on Scott, indeed, since Edwin Muir's Scott and Scotland'

-- Andrew O'Hagan

'Kelly engagingly assesses Scott's various works and insightfully sets Scott in his context'

* Independent *

'Part biography, part literary criticism, part exploration of Scottish identity. It is also part journey of self-discovery'

* The Economist *



Book Information
ISBN 9781846975646
Author Stuart Kelly
Format Paperback
Page Count 336
Imprint Polygon An Imprint of Birlinn Limited
Publisher Birlinn General
Weight(grams) 299g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 24mm