The Entail [Paperback]

John Galt (Author), Anne McManus Scriven (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 15, 2007

The Entail, acclaimed as Galt's masterpiece, is the most ambitious of the Galtian 'theoretical histories'. In his Autobiography Galt states his unease with the term 'novel' to describe his work asserting that : "They would be more properly characterised, in several instances, as theoretical histories, than either as novels or romances. A consistent fable is as essential to a novel as a plot is to a drama, and yet those, which are deemed my best productions, are deficient in this essential ingredient." The Entail, as with the other theoretical histories, was conceived by Galt as a series of plotless studies of middle-class Scottish life but which would be linked to each other by the appearance of common characters and recurring themes. Under pressure from his publisher, William Blackwood, however, Galt had to relinquish this idea and reshaped his books in a more conventional story framework. The core concept of the theoretical history - whereby social and cultural changes within a particular environment are mapped out over a period of a significant number of years - remains evident in The Entail. Some of these major changes, condensed into a few lines, reflect huge shifts in the infrastructure of Scotland's society. John Galt, (1779 - 1839), was born in Irvine, Ayrshire, Scotland. Throughout his life he juggled the roles of businessman, author and colonial administrator. As Secretary to the Canada Company he founded the town of Guelph in 1827. On his return to Britain after a dispute with colonial authorities, he was imprisoned for several months. After involvement with various other colonial business ventures he retired to Greenock and published his Autobiography in 1833. He died in Greenock in 1839. Galt was a prolific author who produced works of various genres but remains best known for his works of prose fiction. The Entail formed part of Galt's remarkable literary output between 1820 and 1822 when The Ayrshire Legatees, Annals of the Parish, The Steamboat, The Provost, Sir Andrew Wylie and The Gathering of the West, had all been published.

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Kennedy & Boyd (August 15, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1904999433
• ISBN-13: 978-1904999430
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,081,297 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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