Scott-land: The Man Who Invented a Nation by Stuart Kelly

If you grow up in Edinburgh, it’s hard not to do so in the shadow of Sir Walter Scott, or at least the massive ‘steam-punk version of Thunderbird 3’ erected in his memory. Yet, as Stuart Kelly points out, few authors have risen and fallen so far in terms of reputation – from ‘Scotland’s Shakespeare’ to (according to Irvine Welsh) ‘arse-licker to the Prince Regent‘ – while having such a profound influence on the identity of their homeland.

With modern day Scotland being a somewhat anomalous concept in terms of nationhood, Kelly convincingly argues that the internationally recognised idea of Scotland – Scott-land – is, whether we like it or not, largely derived from the work of the man called upon to organise the ‘King’s Jaunt‘ in 1822.

This is no dry history; befitting the novelist who wrapped the corpulent George IV in the appropriated emblems of Jacobean rebellion, Kelly – a fellow Borderer who came to Edinburgh too –mixes biography and literary history with personal insights into his own growing appreciation of Scott. Not least the £5 that a nine year old Kelly won for an essay on a Scott Tour, that was wisely spent on a Star Wars PDT-8 troop transporter! [Paul F. Cockburn]