The Cambridge Companion to Scottish Literature

A unique introduction, guide and reference work for students and readers of Scottish literature from the pre-medieval period.

Gerard Carruthers (Edited by), Liam McIlvanney (Edited by)

9780521189361, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 24 December 2012

341 pages
22.8 x 15.2 x 1.8 cm, 0.48 kg

'… a fascinating account of Scottish literature from the sixth century onwards. … The Companion to Scottish Literature should be on the required reading list of anyone interested in the development and current state of Scottish literature and, by extension, the Scottish critical tradition.' Rhona Brown, Scottish Studies Newsletter

Scotland's rich literary tradition is a product of its unique culture and landscape, as well as of its long history of inclusion and resistance to the United Kingdom. Scottish literature includes masterpieces in three languages - English, Scots and Gaelic - and global perspectives from the diaspora of Scots all over the world. This Companion offers a unique introduction, guide and reference work for students and readers of Scottish literature from the pre-medieval period to the post-devolution present. Essays focus on key periods and movements (the Scottish Enlightenment, Scottish Romanticism, the Scottish Renaissance), genres (the historical novel, Scottish Gothic, 'Tartan Noir') and major authors (Burns, Scott, Stevenson, MacDiarmid and Spark). A chronology and guides to further reading in each chapter make this an ideal overview of a national literature that continues to develop its own distinctive style.

Chronology
Introduction Gerard Carruthers and Liam McIlvanney
1. Scottish literature before Scottish literature Thomas Clancy
2. The Medieval period Alessandra Petrina
3. Reformation and Renaissance Sarah Dunnigan
4. The aftermath of Union Leith Davis
5. Robert Burns Nigel Leask
6. Enlightenment, Romanticism and the Scottish Canon: cosmopolites or narrow nationalists? Murray Pittock
7. Scott and the historical novel Ian Duncan
8. The Gaelic tradition Peter Mackay
9. Scottish Gothic David Punter
10. Victorian Scottish literature Andrew Nash
11. Robert Louis Stevenson Penny Fielding
12. Hugh MacDiarmid and the Scottish Renaissance Scott Lyall
13. Popular fiction: detective novels and thrillers from Holmes to Rebus David Goldie
14. Muriel Spark Robert Hosmer
15. The Glasgow novel Liam McIlvanney
16. 'What is the language using us for?': Modern Scottish poetry Fiona Stafford
17. The emergence of Scottish studies Matthew Wickman
18. Otherworlds: devolution and the Scottish novel Cairns Craig
19. Scottish literature in diaspora Gerard Carruthers
Index.

Subject Areas: Literary studies: general [DSB], Literature: history & criticism [DS]