Edinburgh: The Autobiography

by Alan Taylor

From one of the earliest mentions of its name in the sixth century to the Covid lockdowns of the twenty-first, this is a magnificent portrait of one of the world's great cities in its many iterations, from 'Edinburgh, the sink of abomination' to the Athens of the North and everything – including the home of the Enlightenment, the Festival City, the Aids Capital of Europe and a Mecca for tourists seeking tartan tat – in between.

As the nation's capital it has been critical to its progress and a witness to epochal events, such the tumultuous reign of Mary, Queen of Scots, the Reformation, the Forty-Five rebellion, the Disruption of the Church of Scotland and the reconvening of the Scottish Parliament. All of these and more feature. But this is not simply a book about the great and good, the famous and infamous. There is testimony aplenty from ordinary folk who may not have made their mark on history but who have contributed to Edinburgh's ever-expanding tapestry.

There are stories body snatching and murder, drunkenness and drug-taking, sex and shopping, as well rants against inclement weather and the city council.

368 pages, Hardcover

Published December 3, 2024

About the author

Alan Shaw Taylor is a historian specializing in early American history. He is the author of a number of books about colonial America, the American Revolution, and the Early American Republic. He has won a Pulitzer Prize and the Bancroft Prize for his work.

Taylor graduated from Colby College, in Waterville, Maine, in 1977 and earned his Ph.D. from Brandeis University in 1986. Currently a professor of history at the University of California, Davis, he will join the faculty of the Corcoran Department of History at the University of Virginia in 2014.

Reviews

[Dakota Jones · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ideally would give it 0 stars. I was thinking .5 for most of it but by good the ending somehow gets worse. Some bits are interesting but to say this book is about Edinburgh is ridiculous - it's about New Town and posh people. There's not even a mention of witches in the book despite many first hand sources. Most of the articles are also based in New Town. There's an article defending Dundas (written by a white person of course). The kings coronation is mentioned talking about all the people cheering- they were mostly tourists and anti monarchy protesters outnumbered them anyway. There's no common theme or connections and a lot of the book feels like reading wiki summaries. Yes that's right not even wiki articles but summaries of them!

I'm also the exact type of person who should love this book having read dozens of books on Edinburgh but as you might be able to tell I can't stop ranting about just how disappointing, biased and generally boring this book is. Funnily enough I have a signed copy as well- such a shame.

Not going to lie I did skim a lot of it...

[David Little · Rating 4 out of 5]

You probably have to have lived in Edinburgh for a while and already explored it's history and stories to best enjoy this book. Not everything is covered but all books have some degree of bias as obviously do reviewers.
I grew to enjoy the book once I got used to the style.