What do you think?
Rate this book
The Men of the Moss-Hags: Being a History of Adventure Taken from the Papers of William Gordon of Earlstoun in Galloway
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.
This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.
As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.
As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
ebook
First published January 1, 1895
3 people are currently reading
13 people want to read
About the author
S.R. Crockett
236 books10 followersSamuel Rutherford Crockett was a Scottish novelist. He was born at Duchrae, Balmaghie, Kirkcudbrightshire, the illegitimate son of dairymaid Annie Crocket. He was raised on his grandfather's Galloway farm, won a bursary to Edinburgh University in 1876, and graduated from there during 1879.
After some years of travel, he became in 1886 the Free Kirk minister of Penicuik. During that year he produced his first publication, Dulce Cor (Latin: Sweet Heart), a collection of verse under the pseudonym Ford Brereton. He eventually abandoned the Free Church ministry for full-time novel-writing in 1895.
The success of J. M. Barrie and the Kailyard school of sentimental, homey writing had already created a demand for stories in Lowland Scots when Crockett published his successful story of The Stickit Minister in 1893. It was followed by a rapidly produced series of popular novels frequently featuring the history of Scotland or his native Galloway. Crockett made considerable sums of money from his writing and was a friend and correspondent of R. L. Stevenson, but his later work has been criticised as being over-prolific and feebly sentimental.
Crockett was well travelled in Europe and beyond, spending time in most European countries and he wrote several novels of European history including The Red Axe (1898), A Tatter of Scarlet (1913), and the non-fiction The Adventurer in Spain (1903) which holds its own against Robert Louis Stevenson's travel writing.
He died in France on 16 April 1914.
After some years of travel, he became in 1886 the Free Kirk minister of Penicuik. During that year he produced his first publication, Dulce Cor (Latin: Sweet Heart), a collection of verse under the pseudonym Ford Brereton. He eventually abandoned the Free Church ministry for full-time novel-writing in 1895.
The success of J. M. Barrie and the Kailyard school of sentimental, homey writing had already created a demand for stories in Lowland Scots when Crockett published his successful story of The Stickit Minister in 1893. It was followed by a rapidly produced series of popular novels frequently featuring the history of Scotland or his native Galloway. Crockett made considerable sums of money from his writing and was a friend and correspondent of R. L. Stevenson, but his later work has been criticised as being over-prolific and feebly sentimental.
Crockett was well travelled in Europe and beyond, spending time in most European countries and he wrote several novels of European history including The Red Axe (1898), A Tatter of Scarlet (1913), and the non-fiction The Adventurer in Spain (1903) which holds its own against Robert Louis Stevenson's travel writing.
He died in France on 16 April 1914.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
November 24, 2024
While certainly not in fashion today, and never attempting to be a very serious work of literature, this is good for a genre (historical adventure stories for the masses) that was much in vogue at the time, even as its popularity has faded from view (see Robert Louis Stevenson's Kidnapped as a more lasting example from nine years earlier). Yes, the characters are not overly developed (though Crockett does well to give a rounded and fair depiction of Clavers, who could easily have been portrayed simply as a dastardly villain), and it does not shy away from sentimentalism. But taken as it was meant, it is a pleasurable read.
More importantly for me on a personal note is the setting (Galloway) and events (dealing with the Covenanters and the Killing Time) - which, along with many of the characters, were true historical events, though certainly fictionized here) - about which I am trying to learn more as the likely home of certain ancestors of mine and possibly the motivation for their emigration. Give that Crockett focused several other of his books in Galloway as well (where he grew up, after all), I might be dipping into them sometime soon as well (such as The Raiders: Being Some Passages in the Life of John Faa, Lord and Earl of Little Egypt). It's just too bad that I mostly have to rely on ebooks, as all or nearly all of his works have been long out of print, and not very available in used bookstores (especially in the US).
More importantly for me on a personal note is the setting (Galloway) and events (dealing with the Covenanters and the Killing Time) - which, along with many of the characters, were true historical events, though certainly fictionized here) - about which I am trying to learn more as the likely home of certain ancestors of mine and possibly the motivation for their emigration. Give that Crockett focused several other of his books in Galloway as well (where he grew up, after all), I might be dipping into them sometime soon as well (such as The Raiders: Being Some Passages in the Life of John Faa, Lord and Earl of Little Egypt). It's just too bad that I mostly have to rely on ebooks, as all or nearly all of his works have been long out of print, and not very available in used bookstores (especially in the US).
Displaying 1 of 1 review