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The Edinburgh Literary Companion
By Andrew Lownie
A Book Review
By
Frank R. Shaw, FSA Scot, Atlanta, GA, USA email:
jurascot@earthlink.net
 I have
been to Edinburgh fifteen or sixteen times. I have walked the city by the
hour with my wife Susan, who is an indefatigable companion on trips. I’ve
caught the taxis out of Waverly Station or from the airport to my hotel.
More often than not, I have driven into “Auld Reekie” from Manchester or
Inverness. It is the first Scottish city I ever rented a car and, thus,
had my first encounter with something that I later was informed was a
“round-about” on Leith Walk. It was and is a very busy round-about, and I
could not get back to The Royal Terrace Hotel quick enough to put these
old flat feet on solid ground! I know both Old Town and New Town. I think
I know the majority of bookstores first hand, as well as my share of
restaurants and pubs. I’ve spent my share of pounds sterling in that city.
I’ve lugged my share of books back to Atlanta, even to the point of being
called by Delta employees into the back luggage room at the airport in
Manchester and asked to unpack “this heavy suitcase so we can verify its
contents.” And that was before 9/11! I know where to find the best cup of
coffee, the best cappuccino, and the best Italian food. I know where the
wait staff is good and where it is not. I’ve had more than my share of
good food and good wine in that city. People I met years ago who live
there are now considered friends. Simply put, Edinburgh is one of the best
cities in the world that I’ve visited during my lifetime of travels. For
an outsider, an American whose ancestors come from the Isle of Jura, I
thought I knew a lot about Edinburgh until…
 I read
Andrew Lownie’s The Edinburgh Literary Companion. And I must
say, the author is a multi-talented man and was kind enough to introduce
himself to me via email after having read a previous review of mine in
this space. I discovered what his publisher already knows - he is a gifted
writer. Reading his book about Edinburgh is the best thing I have ever
done in connection with this great city. It is a wee book consisting of
150 pages of narrative. It is worthy of the famous “Two Thumbs Up” review,
but if I had four, so would this review!
I would
have known a lot more about this delightful city a lot sooner had this
book been written earlier. This is one of those “do yourself a favor” tips
- get a copy if you are going to Edinburgh for the first time or the
fifteenth time. There is something special about Edinburgh - its magic has
pulled on the hearts and minds of over five hundred authors who have used
the city as the background for their novels. Lownie points out “a hundred
of them have been published in the last fifteen years.”
There
is not much I can add to the various publications that have already
reviewed the book. The list reads like a “Who’s Who” publication:
The Herald, Sunday Telegraph, Scotland on Sunday, Glasgow
Evening Times, Daily Mai, The Economist, Mail on Sunday, Scots Magazine,
Catholic Herald, Spectator, Choice Magazine, The Times Literary
Supplement, The Edinburgh Literary Companion, and The
Scotsman. Yes, the book is that good to command such an audience
of reviewers. So why would I review a book that has been reviewed “to
death”? For two simple reasons - the author’s story needs to be told here
in the States and abroad, and it needs to be told to a larger audience of
Scots and others with interest in Edinburgh. Did you know that
www.electricscotland.com has 1.2 million hits a month? Of that number,
60% comes from the USA, 20% from Canada, 10% form Australia and New
Zealand, and the other 10% from the United Kingdom.
I have
maintained for sometime that Sir Walter Scott is on a comeback among our
readers. For too long Sir Walter has been considered out of date. A few
years ago in the home of a friend of mine in Edinburgh, he told me in no
uncertain terms over a very Scottish dinner of smoked salmon and lamb
chops that Scott was outdated and no longer read. However, Scott remains
my favorite Scottish writer, and God knows how much I love Robert Burns.
The increasing number of today’s authors who are quoting Scott encourages
me. My library of nearly 400 books on Scott alone testifies to my love for
him. It does indeed seem to be fashionable to quote Scott once again as
evidenced in Magnus Magnusson’s SCOTLAND, The Story of a Nation
and Arthur Herman’s How The Scots Invented the Modern World,
to name two. Andrew Lownie is no exception. He relies on the writings of
Scott and quotes him throughout the book. It helps to remember that
Edinburgh was Scott’s town, and he could be called the first celebrity
writer the world ever knew! Scott writes of the emotions he endured when
he finally had to sell his Edinburgh residence to help fight off impending
bankruptcy ruin.
More
importantly for our subject, Andrew Lownie will make both the first time
tourist and the frequent traveler to Edinburgh feel as if the town now
belongs to them. What is unique about this book is that over a hundred
literary figures are covered by Lownie with a lot of emphasis on the likes
of Scott, Stevenson, and Garioch, the latter two singled out by the Lownie
as “indulging my own particular loves.” You’ll love what he writes about
Barrie, Boswell, Burns, and Byron regarding Edinburgh, and that is just a
few of the one hundred plus writers who will join you for your daily walks
around Edinburgh if you are smart enough to purchase a copy and take it
with you on your next visit. The book has a bibliography consisting of 211
books, and it lists the 500 books that have been written on Edinburgh.
“Andrew
Lownie was born in Nairobi. He was educated at Fettes and at the
universities of Cambridge and Edinburgh. He lives in London where he works
as a literary agent.” You will find this book fascinating. It has a
certain elegance not found in the normal run of “guide” books, and it is
difficult for me to classify it as such because it is indeed a jewel of a
book. Case in point, the unusual use of maps on the inside covers of the
book are most helpful - you certainly can’t lose them!
The Edinburgh Literary Companion is published by Polygon, an
imprint of Birlinn Ltd., ISBN 10: 1 904598 61 7. The paperback carries a
price tag of £9.99. Any Barnes & Nobles or Borders, or your favorite local
bookstore should be able to get it for you. Thanks, Andrew Lownie, for
making my next trip to Edinburgh more enlightening on one of the world’s
most beautiful cities!
(FRS –
1/21/06)
You can purchase
The Edinburgh Literary Companion
 at
Amazon.com |
