Book Description
The titles in this collection incorporate unique personal visions of the thought and culture of late eighteenth-century Scotland. Thomas Somerville, Presbyterian clergyman and historian of English politics, wrote a perceptive memoir of Scottish life. Henry Mackenzie, lawyer and novelist, had an eye for witty anecdotes about the Edinburgh of his day. The colourful Peter Williamson was kidnapped, sold into service in America, and captured by Indians -- but he returned to Scotland to tell his tale. John Jackson, entrepreneur of the dramatic arts, expounded upon his heroic attempts to bring theatre to Glasgow and Edinburgh in spite of religious opposition and legal obstacles. John Ramsay of Ochtertyre produced a vast number of pages about notable Scottish men and women of the age, from which Alexander Allardyce fashioned two classic volumes. William Smellie, Edinburgh printer and natural philosopher, left behind a rich archive of correspondence and manuscripts which Robert Kerr pieced together to form a fascinating memoir.

Drawing upon the very different backgrounds and experiences of their authors, each of these six works reveals a distinctive perspective on Scottish culture and society during the second half of the eighteenth century, when the Scottish Enlightenment was in full bloom. All of the titles are rare today, and several of them have never before been reprinted. Each includes a new introduction.

FROM THE PUBLISHER