The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner

James Hogg was a Scottish author known primarily for his poetry, short stories, ballads, songs and historical narratives. Raised by a tenant farmer in the Ettrick hills of Scotland, Hogg was mostly self-educated, teaching himself to read with only the Bible, and developing an early interest in literature through his mother's recitation of Scottish ballads, songs, and fairy tales. Although his 1824 novel, "The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner", was released to disappointing sales, it was "rediscovered" in 1924 by André Gide and is now recognized as a masterpiece of prose fiction. The "Justified Sinner" of the title is the novel's protagonist, Robert Colwan-Wringham, who as an Antinomian Calvinist is convinced of his own divine salvation, regardless of sin. This complex novel features elements of the Gothic and supernatural, a duel narrative, and has been praised for its sophisticated technique, psychological complexity, and elements of irony. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper.

James Hogg (1770 - 1835) was a Scottish poet, novelist and essayist who wrote in both Scots and English. As a young man he worked as a shepherd and farmhand and was largely self-educated through reading. He was a friend of many of the great writers of his day, including Sir Walter Scott, of whom he later wrote an unauthorized biography. He became widely known as the "Ettrick Shepherd", a nickname under which some of his works were published and the character name he was given in the widely read series Noctes Ambrosianae, published in Blackwood's Magazine. He is best known today for his novel The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner. His other works include the long poem The Queen's Wake (1813), his collection of songs Jacobite Reliques (1819) and his two novels The Three Perils of Man (1822), and The Three Perils of Woman (1823).