ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book focuses on new biographical evidence to provide a more exact account of the initial meeting of Scott and James Hogg, a critical social and literary connection for the Ettrick Shepherd. It argues that in criticizing Adam Smith’s notion of sympathy in his gothic novel, Hogg endorses the philosophy of Dugald Stewart, who felt that Smith’s privileging of the imagination could lead to fanaticism. The book shows that ‘sympathetic imitation’ in Confessions does indeed manifest in a frighteningly contagious and destructive religious enthusiasm. It highlights the different impressions of Scotland held by Scott and Hogg. The book suggests that the working-class Hogg carefully restores the disturbing implications of Joanna Baillie’s vision of Scotland because he firmly refuses to elide self-destructive impulses within Scottish communities that foster scapegoating and exclusion.
