David Daiches presents a vivid kaleidoscope of impressions of Edinburgh that splendidly recreate the spirit of the place. This anthology of extracts from letters, memoirs, diaries, novels and biographies of interesting visitors and inhabitants, including the writings of Scott, Boswell, Cockburn, John Knox and many others, recreates for today's visitors the drama, the history, and the life of the city in buildings and places that can still be visited. The daring Scottish recapture of the Castle from the English in 1313; the confrontation between Calvinist John Knox and Catholic Mary Queen of Scots in Holyroodhouse; an eye-witness account of the execution of Montrose at the Mercat Cross in 1650; Daniel Defoe's account of street riots in 1706 protesting against Scotland's imminent Union with England; Thomas Carlyle walking on Princes Street and Dr. Johnson on the High Street; reeking slop-pails in the wynds and polite manners in the ballrooms...
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About the Author:
David Daiches grew up in Edinburgh and was educated there before proceeding to Oxford where he was elected Bradley Fellow of Balliol College. His many books include a two-volume Critical History of English Literature and a great variety of literary studies as well as historical, critical and topographical works on Scottish subjects. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
Review:
""A little miracle of space...this book makes his city a thousandfold more captivating by his kaleidoscope of insights on its inheritance."
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- PublisherInterlink Books
- Publication date2004
- ISBN 10 1566565383
- ISBN 13 9781566565387
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages256
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Rating