Scottish Literature

Chepman and Myllar set up the first printing press to be used in Scotland. The press was intended to be used primarily for administrative and legal texts but also circulated the writings of William Dunbar and Robert Henryson.

The Treaty of Union between England and Scotland resulted in Scotland’s debt from the Darien scheme were paid, William of Orange and his queen were accepted as the rightful rulers of both nations, and Scotland’s parliament was absorbed into England’s. As a result of Scotland’s perceived loss of autonomy, there was a great rise in “cultural nationalism” and a growing interest in Scotland's traditional literature.

Robert Fergusson was a poet, writing pieces mostly meant for light-hearted performances at the clubs which he attended. Much of his work was a precursor to Robert Burns' work. In fact, Burns called him, "my elder brother in the Muse." Yet, beyond Fergusson's unintentional creation of The Poet, he was a significant chronicler of life particularly in Edinburgh.

Wrote The Annals of the Parish and The Ayrshire Legatees (both 1821), among other works. Galt benefited greatly from the golden era in Scottish publishing and the new role of the novel in the literary hierarchy. Where poetry used to be THE method of interpreting and recounting history, thanks to Sir Walter Scott, the novel was now the most viable form of communicating and interpreting history and culture.

Penned by Sir Walter Scott and met with popular acclaim.

Penned by Sir Walter Scott.

George MacDonald was a minister and a theologian, a wordsmith and a dreamer. LIke the Scottish culture he grew up in, MacDonald combined within himself the powers of the magical and the rational, the fantastic and the practical. Though MacDonald spent a good part of his adult life outside of Scotland, his writing and intellectual powers were birthed by the magic and rigor of Scottish culture and lore. He penned poems, fairy tales, and works of theology. Without these works, writers like C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien would not have been the same spiritually or artistically and, by extension, neither would so many after them.

Penned by James Hogg and presented at the time as an actual confession uncovered posthumously.

Alexander Carmichael was the collector and editor of the Carmina Gadelica.

John Muir was a Scottish-born American naturalist and environmental philosopher who wrote on the importance of preserving the wilderness.

Alexander Carmichael collected the material which comprises the Carmina Gadelica in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland between 1855 and 1899.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was born in and studied medicine in Scotland. In 1899-1902, Conan Doyle served as a physician in the Boer War. He penned many tales including the unprecedented Sherlock Holmes series.

Penned by Robert Louis Stevenson, mostly in Scots.

Penned by Robert Louis Stevenson.

Duncan Williamson was a member of the Scottish Traveller community, a singer and storyteller. Before his death, his wife Linda transcribed his tales in the unique dialect they were originally performed in.