Folio Archives 229: The Confessions of a Justified Sinner by James Hogg 1978
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The Private memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner Written by Himself by James Hogg 1978
Written in 1800 by the Scottish author James Hogg, but set in Edinburgh and the Scottish countryside of 1715, this is a most innovative style of murder mystery, particularly for the time it was written.
The story of a murder is told twice, initially (54 pages) in the third person by the book’s editor who describes the actions as an observer, then the story is told again (112 pages), this time by the murderer (the justified sinner). Finally (14 pages), there is a summing up and gathering of loose ends by the editor. A most intriguing book.
Bound in bright red cloth cover blocked with a black image, the 226 page book has nine colour lino-cut pictures by Peter Pendrey. There is a 15 page introduction by Douglas Gifford detailing Hogg’s extraordinary life, and a glossary of Scottish terms.
The page tops are stained blue, and the endpapers are a dark blue as is the textured slipcase (23.6x15.3cm.).
An index of the other illustrated reviews in the "Folio Archives" series can be viewed here.
Written in 1800 by the Scottish author James Hogg, but set in Edinburgh and the Scottish countryside of 1715, this is a most innovative style of murder mystery, particularly for the time it was written.
The story of a murder is told twice, initially (54 pages) in the third person by the book’s editor who describes the actions as an observer, then the story is told again (112 pages), this time by the murderer (the justified sinner). Finally (14 pages), there is a summing up and gathering of loose ends by the editor. A most intriguing book.
Bound in bright red cloth cover blocked with a black image, the 226 page book has nine colour lino-cut pictures by Peter Pendrey. There is a 15 page introduction by Douglas Gifford detailing Hogg’s extraordinary life, and a glossary of Scottish terms.
The page tops are stained blue, and the endpapers are a dark blue as is the textured slipcase (23.6x15.3cm.).
An index of the other illustrated reviews in the "Folio Archives" series can be viewed here.
2Lukas1990
These older Folio Society books are the best! I was very sad when my copy of Sir Thomas More "Utopia" (published in 1965, I believe) got lost on it's way to Lithuania, where I'm from.
3ian_curtin
I have a pretty decent second hand edition of this - I started it a good while back, but it didn't take with me, so I set it aside for another time. I must get back to it. There is a handsome simplicity to these older "standard" classics, reflecting what was then a very definite (I think) FS "house style". In this case it works well.
