David Daiches was a Scottish literary historian and critic, delving deeply into English and Scottish literature, as well as Scottish culture. His work explored the broader role of literature in society, with a critical approach valued for its depth. Daiches engaged with both literary history and criticism, contributing significantly to the understanding of Scotland's literary heritage. His writing was marked by its insight and interest in literature's significance beyond academic confines.
The transition from an aristocratic ideal of courtliness to a bourgeois ideal of gentility is well documented in European culture. The development is a commonplace, but there were special factors present in Scotland which were not present in England or indeed elsewhere in Europe. These make the Scottish situation unusually interesting.The chapters of this book were delivered as the Alexander Lectures at the University of Toronto in March 1980.
One of English literature's classic masterpieces—a gripping novel of love, propriety, and tragedy. Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read Emily Brontë's only novel endures as a work of tremendous and far-reaching influence. The Penguin Classics edition is the definitive version of the text, edited with an introduction by Pauline Nestor. Lockwood, the new tenant of Thrushcross Grange, situated on the bleak Yorkshire moors, is forced to seek shelter one night at Wuthering Heights, the home of his landlord. There he discovers the history of the tempestuous events that took place years before. What unfolds is the tale of the intense love between the gypsy foundling Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw. Catherine, forced to choose between passionate, tortured Heathcliff and gentle, well-bred Edgar Linton, surrendered to the expectations of her class. As Heathcliff's bitterness and vengeance at his betrayal is visited upon the next generation, their innocent heirs must struggle to escape the legacy of the past. In this edition, a new preface by Lucasta Miller, author of The Brontë Myth, looks at the ways in which the novel has been interpreted, from Charlotte Brontë onwards. This complements Pauline Nestor's introduction, which discusses changing critical receptions of the novel, as well as Emily Brontë's influences and background.
Offering a study of the Scottish Enlightenment, this collection of essays deals with the period from 1730 to 1790 - one of the most important in Scotland's history. It was an age when many aspects of mankind's existence - philosophy, economics, art, law, architecture, medicine, engineering - were studied and questioned. It was also a time when Scotland's cities were hotbeds of genius, and Scotsmen such as the philosopher David Hume, the economist Adam Smith, the chemist James Black and the geologist James Hutton developed their ideas and successfully challenged the beliefs of the past.
Edinburgh is a city whose history is written on its face. The Old Town on its crowded rock, sloping down from the Castle to Holyroodhouse, has not significantly changed its atmosphere since the turbulent fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, when riots, processions, or public executions jammed the High Street. And the very different era that followed the bloody religious wars of the seventeenth century is epitomized by the elegant streets and squares of the New Town - the eighteenth-century Enlightenment whose writers, philosophers and lawyers made Edinburgh famous. 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; reeking slop-pails in the wynds and polite manner
The Life and Times of Bonnie Prince Charlie
Why did Charles Edward Stuart become one of the great romantic figures of history, a familiar name even to those who know nothing of his curious career? Professor Daiches brushes away the dust from the waxwork figure the Bonnie Prince has become, and writes of the real person within the context of his time.
David Daiches was a distinguished literary historian and critic, known for his extensive contributions to the field. He served as Professor of English at the University of Sussex from 1961 to 1977, during which time he shaped literary scholarship and education. His prolific work reflects a deep engagement with literature, making significant impacts on both academic circles and broader literary discussions.
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A compendium of information on Scottish life, work, play and imagination. This new and completely revised edition takes in events of the past decade which has seen a flowering of Scottish art, music and literature.
