Book description
The Complete Edition. Includes the engraved frontispiece and
(fictional) dedication and with a new preface by Ian Rankin. It is
Scotland in the early eighteenth century. Fear and superstition grip the
land. Robert Wringhim, a boy of strict Calvinist upbringing, is
corrupted by a shadowy figure who calls himself Gil-Martin. Under his
influence Robert commits a series of murders which he regards as
'justified' by God under the tenets of his faith. Hogg's book is a
brilliant portrayal of the power of evil and a scathing critique of
organised religion. Superbly crafted and deftly executed, it resists any
easy explanation of events: is this stranger a figment of Robert's
imagination, or the devil himself? 'Hogg's enduring masterpiece is a
triumph and deserves to be read, enjoyed and discussed by a new
generation.' Ian Rankin 'One of the great works on that sinister border
between the supernatural and the psychological. Its atmosphere is
unique, its penetration is shocking, and the truthfulness of its account
of religious mania is both timeless and timely.' Philip Pullman 'A work
so moving, so funny, so impassioned, so exact and so mysterious that its
long history of neglect came as a surprise which has yet to lose its
resonance.' Karl Miller, Times Literary Supplement 'Hogg's masterpiece
is a psychological thriller, a metaphysical puzzle and a theological and
philosophical maze all in one. Its inconsistencies and unresolved
questions are what makes it at once so gripping and yet so hard to
grasp. A strange, disturbing obsession of a book, and a key text of
Scottish literature.' James Robertson, author of The Testament of Gideon
Mack
