Anecdotes of Scott
James Hogg
Edited by J H Rubenstein
After Scott's death in 1832 James Hogg wrote an affectionate but frank account of their long friendship. Scott's son-in-law and official biographer, John Gibson Lockhart, declared himself to be filled with 'utter disgust and loathing' at the 'beastly and abominable things' he found it to contain.
This edition includes both the original version, written as a contribution to a Scott biography planned by a young London friend of Hogg's, and a revised version created subsequently for an American market. Those with an interest in Romantic biography and autobiography will be particularly fascinated by these lively, readable, idiosyncratic and disconcerting texts.
A wealth of information is provided in the paperback edition of this volume, which also includes a useful Hogg chronology and reading list.
Rubenstein's introduction … is useful and perceptive., as when she suggests that Anecdotes was, for Hogg, 'a sort of declaration of independence'. In it, Hogg's rich voice ricochets from affection and awe to irritation and resentment.
