Review
The illustrations and accompanying article adds to the richness and the multifaceted nature of this edition. Offers students and literary scholars an assortment of material through which to approach the complexity of Hogg's marvellous poem. -- Sharon Alker Scotia It perhaps goes without saying that the Stirling / South Carolina Research Edition of the works of Hogg has been a triumph! In short, there cannot be the slightest doubt that this volume will be an essential and entirely worthy addition to a superb publishing venture. -- Professor John Barrell, University of York This is sure to delight the international academic community, as well as appeal to the poetry-reading public! this book will fill a much-needed gap, and allow the continued appreciation of Hogg's work as much more than merely the Ettrick Shepherd -- Dr Valentina Bold, University of Glasgow The Stirling/South Carolina edition of The Queen's Wake is a remarkable piece of scholarship ... The illustrations and accompanying article adds to the richness and the multifaceted nature of this edition, which offers students and literary scholars an assortment of material through which to approach the complexity of Hogg's marvellous poem. Scotia The illustrations and accompanying article adds to the richness and the multifaceted nature of this edition. Offers students and literary scholars an assortment of material through which to approach the complexity of Hogg's marvellous poem. It perhaps goes without saying that the Stirling / South Carolina Research Edition of the works of Hogg has been a triumph! In short, there cannot be the slightest doubt that this volume will be an essential and entirely worthy addition to a superb publishing venture. This is sure to delight the international academic community, as well as appeal to the poetry-reading public! this book will fill a much-needed gap, and allow the continued appreciation of Hogg's work as much more than merely the Ettrick Shepherd The Stirling/South Carolina edition of The Queen's Wake is a remarkable piece of scholarship ... The illustrations and accompanying article adds to the richness and the multifaceted nature of this edition, which offers students and literary scholars an assortment of material through which to approach the complexity of Hogg's marvellous poem.
Book Description
The Queen's Wake is one of the landmarks of British Romantic poetry. It focuses on the return of Mary, Queen of Scots to Scotland in 1561 to take personal rule of her kingdom after her years in France. In the poem poets and bards hold a poetic competition (a 'wake') in Holyrood Palace to welcome the Queen home. In the descriptions of the songs and the people who sing them various Scottish poets of Hogg's own period can be recognised, giving the reader a sense of the condition of poetry in Hogg's Scotland. Another key concern of the poem is the state of Scotland in 1561 - a crucial period in Scottish history, coming a year after the legislation was passed that brought in the Scottish Reformation. The Queen's Wake looks back to the pre-1560 world of Catholic Scotland and explores the tensions between that old world and an emerging modernity. When The Queen's Wake was published in 1813 it proved an unexpected popular success, placing Hogg for a while alongside Byron and Scott as one of the most admired British poets of that time. Over the next six years Hogg was encouraged by major players in the Edinburgh book trade to make substantial revisions, to make the poem even more attractive and saleable. The fifth edition (1819) is an enhanced and carefully polished version from the now established and respected poet. It is markedly different from the edgy, powerful and unsettling first version of The Queen's Wake, which was the work of an impecunious and marginalised outsider. Thus the poem exists in significantly different authorial versions, each reflecting Hogg's circumstances at the time. In recent years a consensus has emerged that in cases of this kind the modern reader is best served by having access to editions of both versions. The Stirling/South Carolina Research Edition of The Queen's Wake therefore presents both the first and fifth edition of the poem. Key Features: * The publication of one of the landmarks of British Romantic poetry * At time of publication the poem's success placed Hogg alongside Burns and Scott as one of the leading writers of the period * Presents both the first and fifth editions of the poem to allow the reader to compare the two * A careful editorial introduction places the poem in its historical context
