Book description
The late poet laureate, Sir John Betjeman, said that Edinburgh was the
most beautiful city in Europe. Like some other great cities it is set on
seven hills. But only one of these, Rome, rivals Edinburgh in matching
the beauty of its setting with the stateliness of its buildings.
Edinbrugh, too, provides the backdrop to much of the dark drama of the
Scottish past, from Mary Queen of Scots to Bonnie Prince Charlie and
beyond. Michael Fry, who has lived and worked there for nearly forty
years, provides a compellingly readable account of this great city, from
the earliest times to the present, balancing Edinburgh's cultural,
political and social history, and painting a vivid portrait of a city -
that like Stevenson's Dr Jekyll - is both dark and light, both dark and
light, both 'Auld Reekie' and 'Athens of the North'.
‘Impressive ... in the style of Peter Ackroyd’s history of London’
Magnus Linklator, Spectator
'No one interested in the history of Edinburgh, and indeed Scotland,
should be without it’ Allan Massie, Scotsman
Michael Fry is a historian and writer who lives and has worked in
Edinburgh since 1970. Since 1988 he has published seven books of
Scottish history, each of which has overthrown some cherished myth.
