James Hogg's 'The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner'

Scotnotes #4

by Elaine Petrie

The SCOTNOTES booklets are a series of study guides to major Scottish writers and texts frequently used within literature courses, aimed at senior secondary school pupils and students in further education. This title covers the novel The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner, by James Hogg.

80 pages, Paperback

First published January 19, 1988

Reviews

[Catherine]

I downloaded this book from project Gutenberg. Gothic novels don't have the fast paced action that modern books have so I think you either like or you don't. Personally, I love gothic novels. The old Scots dialect may be a little difficult for some people to understand. It was a strange story, dwelling on religion and the supernatural; the devil in particular. I agree with another reviewer; great devil, smooth talker, charming and persuasive.

[Maridith Geuder]

This early 19th century Scottish novel is brilliant on many levels. Structured into two narratives, one an omniscient view of events as they unfold and one a first-person account of the same events from the viewpoint of the main character, the two together reflect the idea of the “double” experienced by Robert Colwan. There is much Presbyterianism in the book, reflecting Scotland of the times, but there is also sly humor, especially in the editor’s note at the end. The idea of a second evil self would also be found in the more famous Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. It is not an easy read, but is well worth the effort.

[Martin]

As a study guide for The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner, it’s a fairly compact book but reasonably dense. It packs a lot of information but the style is also quite dry, so probably more suited to 5th/6th Year Higher students or those in first year at university. It’s a study guide so being entertaining isn’t high up on the list of priorities. (Confused by the reviews on here talking about the actual book and not the study guide…if I was scoring the novel it would be a definite 5 stars.)