Contemporary Memoirs

The six titles in this collection of reprints incorporate personal visions of the thought and culture of late-18th-century Scotland. Thomas Somerville, Presbyterian clergyman and historian of English politics, wrote a memoir of Scottish life. Henry Mackenzie, lawyer and novelist, had an eye for witty anecdotes about the Edinburgh of his day. Peter Williamson was kidnapped, sold into services in America, and captured by Indians - but returned to Scotland to tell his tale. Jon Jackson, entrepreneur of the dramatic arts, expounded upon his attempts to bring the theatre to Glasgow and Edinburgh in spite of religious and legal obstacles. John Ramsey of Ochertyre produced a number of papers about notable Scottish men and women of the age. William Smellie, Edinburgh painter and natural philosopher, left behind an archive of correspondence and manuscripts which Robert Kerr pieced together to form his memoir. Drawing upon the very different backgrounds and experiences of their authors, each of these six works reveals a distinctive perspective on Scottish culture and society during the Scottish Enlightenment in the second half of the 18th century.