Edinburgh Critical Edition of the Works of John Gibson Lockhart – serie

The first complete edition of Peter's Letters since 1819Offers an eyewitness account of Scotland at a key point in its cultural historyIncludes fully edited text and apparatusGenesis and publishing history of the workProvides detailed and precise annotationsIn Peter's Letters to his Kinsfolk (1819) the young John Gibson Lockhart (under the guise of an elderly Welsh physician) portrayed and analysed the society of Regency Glasgow and Edinburgh in terms of German nationalist and Romantic criticism. Focusing on the networks of the law, the church, the universities, fine art, antiquarianism, literature, theatre, and periodical culture he provided a series of brilliant, sometimes serious and sometimes satirical, portraits of the most notable characters of the day and the institutions they represented, and his text is accompanied by a series of portrait engravings and of vignettes of significant moments in his tour. This edition presents the first complete text of this widely-allusive work published since 1819, together with the substantial notes that a modern reader requires to understand it fully. The editorial apparatus also comprises a detailed index and an essay on the contemporary illustrations.

A scholarly edition of Lockhart's most intricate and sophisticated contribution to the Scottish historical novelCritically-edited text with full scholarly apparatusComprehensive Introduction that addresses the composition of the novel, the novel's literary and historical contexts, and the novel's critical receptionExtensive Explanatory Notes that identify quotations within the novel, the novel's literary, historical, political, cultural, and geographical references, and other key expressionsProvides a comprehensive glossary of Scots words, as well as other single words that might not be familiar to the readerTextual notes addressing Lockhart's revisions based on the extant manuscript proof, as well as other publications within Lockhart's lifetimeThe History of Matthew Wald (1824) is John Gibson Lockhart's fourth and final novel and perhaps his most focused, stylistically successful fiction. The title character tells his own story, which is set in the context of, and carefully interwoven with, the larger historical, social, and political events and circumstances of Scotland in the 18th and early 19th centuries. Matthew Wald exemplifies Lockhart's idea that the novel should portray the 'human mind under the influence of not one, but many of its passions ambition love revenge remorse' and should reflect the historical and social truth of the age. This scholarly edition includes an Introduction that discusses the literary and historical contexts of the narrative and the novel's early reception and textual history. Detailed Explanatory Notes complement the Introduction to provide the modern reader with the resources to re-evaluate Lockhart's place in the history of the Scottish novel and Romantic fiction.

This modern scholarly edition is based on the two-volume abridged edition of 1848, which in being less weighed down by supplementary materials provides a more fluent record of Lockhart’s own often personally informed narrative. Volume I includes a substantial Introduction which presents an account of the genesis of the project, its initial completion in 1837-38 in the face of great difficulties, and subsequent publication history, during which it played a key part in establishing Scott’s reputation and finally relieving his debts. Explanatory annotation identifies elements such as allusions, personalities and events, while interrogating some of Lockhart’s more problematic statements. A special category of Textual Notes summarises omissions from the larger versions of the Life, as well as tracking new text as provided by the 1848 edition. In addition to commemorating Lockhart’s mammoth literary achievement, this edition through its various components effectively offers an encyclopaedic record of Scott’s life and output.

Valerius, A Roman Story, Lockhart’s first novel and what has been called ‘the first classical novel in English’, was first published in 1821 and extensively revised for Blackwood’s Standard Novels (1842) two decades later. This revised edition – Lockhart’s final edition – is the text presented in this new scholarly edition. The title character, a young Roman Briton, narrates and reflects upon his journey to Rome in the time of Trajan. The novel is part history, part travel narrative, part love story and part thriller, as Valerius’s personal journey is carefully interwoven with the history, culture, and politics of the Roman Empire in a time of Christian persecution. Lockhart offers Romantic fiction a new character and invites readers to consider conditions of nineteenth-century Britain through Roman life. This edition, with its extensive explanatory notes, provides the modern reader with the scholarly resources to re-evaluate Valerius and Lockhart’s place in the history of the Scottish novel and Romantic fiction.

This modern scholarly edition is based on the two-volume abridged edition of 1848, which in being less weighed down by supplementary materials provides a more fluent record of Lockhart’s own often personally informed narrative. Following the pattern of the original 1848 edition, Volume II offers a new perspective on its subject. Beginning with Lockhart’s first visit to Abbotsford in October 1818, it marks the commencement of his direct personal relationship with Scott, which lasted unbroken until Scott’s death in 1832. An introduction to the second volume traces this relationship and its significance. Explanatory annotation identifies elements such as allusions, personalities and events, while interrogating some of Lockhart’s more problematic statements. A special category of Textual Notes summarises omissions from the larger versions of the Life, as well as tracking new text as provided by the 1848 edition.