A Commentary

by Douglas Gifford, with readings by John Shedden

Published in: Audio CD (2 discs). 
By: Association for Scottish Literary Studies, Glasgow, October 2007. 
Price: £14.95 
ISBN 978-0-948877-82-7

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Professor Douglas Gifford, Emeritus Professor of Scottish Literature at the University of Glasgow, explores James Hogg’s most famous work, The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner. This shocking tale of a minister’s son who believes himself chosen by God to punish those he sees as evil-doers, and who has a mysterious guide in all his atrocities, has been labelled a Gothic story – yet it has more in common with traditional Scottish folk-tales, but with the alternative possibility of an astonishingly modern reading, in which there are no devils and no wonders, only the delusions of a diseased mind.

Professor Gifford guides the listener through the turns and twists of the novel, accompanied by atmospheric readings of selections from the text by John Shedden. Both psychological and supernatural elements are explored, along with the background to Hogg and his works.

This double-disk audio CD makes an excellent tool for classroom use or for home study.

CONTENTS
CD1:

1. Holy Willie, Robert Wringhim and Predestination
2. The Upbringing of Robert Wringhim 
3. Gil-Martin

CD2: 

The Psychological Interpretation The Supernatural Interpretation Hogg’s Other Novels