Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner

James Hogg was born on 9 December 1770 in Ettrick Forest in Selkirk, Scotland. He worked as a shepherd and taught himself how to read and write before being introduced to Sir Walter Scott who helped him begin his literary career. His first collection of poems, The Mountain Bard, was published in 1807 and this was followed by The Queen's Wake in 1813. He went on to work for Blackwood's Magazine and published his most famous work, The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner, in 1824. James Hogg died on 21 November 1835.

"A sinister, funny, moving tale of demonic possession, murder and religious fanaticism" Sunday Telegraph "Barmy and scary and predating Jekyll and Hyde. And written by a shepherd who barely read any books. A Scottish classic, a world classic, yet hardly anyone, writers excepted, has actually read it" -- Ian Rankin Observer "A strange and disturbing novel written by a self-educated Highland shepherd. A gripping and pioneering work that deals with the nature of good, evil and religious fanaticism" Daily Express "That peerless drama of divided selves and doppelgangers" -- Maggie O'Farrell Observer "One of the great English gothic novels. Some would say, simply, that it is one of the great novels" Daily Mail