In 1730, Captain Edmund Burt, an officer of the English army, was sent to Scotland to work as a contractor. He wrote regularly to an acquaintance in London about his experiences. These are vivid, often witty and satirical descriptions of the Highland and Highlanders intended for a wider English audience, to whom the north of Scotland was seen almost as a foreign country Burr had an insatiable curiosity and wrote about cooking and personal hygiene, weddings, funerals, public executions, and even the activities of witches. While he was critical of many things, he draws a very sympathetic picture of the hardship and poverty faced by so much of the ordinary population. Now available for the first time in one volume, his letters are a perfect antidote to England's then often Romantic views of its northern neighbor.
Shopping Cart
