Overview

Sir Alexander Boswell (1775-1822) wrote Scottish songs that are still performed today, such as ""Jenny's Bawbee"". An extravagant character and a Tory, he wrote flagrant lampoons of his Whig opponents. One of them greatly incensed his Whig cousin James Stuart of Dunearn, who challenged him to a duel in which Boswell was killed. At his trial for murder, Stuart was represented as a peaceable man unaccustomed to the use of firearms. Nothing could be further from the truth. He served in the militia, was irascible and, at times, violent. This book tells the compelling stories of the remarkable tangled events that led to their quarrel. The duel marked a turning point in Scottish politics away from a turbulent and fractious past to a quieter future. The Whigs triumphed, paving the way for liberal Scotland. In addition, this volume includes, for the first time, many of Boswell's poems and witty lampoons.

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9781527534957

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Michael Moss is Professor Emeritus of Archival Science at the University of Northumbria, UK, having previously served as Miegunyah Distinguished Visiting Fellow in the e-Scholarship Research Centre at the University of Melbourne in 2015. He was awarded a lifetime achievement award by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Archives and History in 2017. His recent publications include ""Brussels Sprouts and Empire: Putting Down Roots"" in The Philosophy of Gardening, ""Where Have All the Files Gone, Lost in Action Points Every One?"" in the Journal of Contemporary History (2012), and ""Culzean: What Do the Ledgers Tell Us?"" in Archival Science (2019). He is currently engaged, with William Parente, in writing the history of Langwell, a large sporting and agricultural estate in Caithness.

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