It is set in Scotland within a world where angels, devils, and demonic possession exist. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more. james hogg, confessions of a justified sinner a curious blend of intense theological debate with flashes of supernaturalism and psychological horror, big ups to my friend for showing me this because id probably never have chanced upon it otherwise - great stuff. An early example of a psychological mystery and modern crime fiction, The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner details the experience of its criminal anti-hero. About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Copious notes identify the novel's historical, biblical, theological, and literary allusions.

Is the young man the victim of a psychotic delusion, or has he been tempted by the devil to wage war against God's enemies? The authoritative and lively introduction by Ian Duncan covers the full range of historical and religious themes and contexts, offers a richer and more accurate consideration of the novel's relation to Romantic fiction than found elsewhere, and sheds new light on the novel's treatment of fanaticism. The memoirs are presented by a narrator whose attempts to explain the story only succeed in intensifying its more baffling and bizarre aspects. James Hogg's sardonic novel follows a young man who, falling under the spell of a mysterious stranger who bears an uncanny likeness to himself, embarks on a career as a serial murderer. In the second half he probes the book's brilliant, complex engagement with issues of identity, history and narrative itself.One of the supreme masterpieces of Romantic fiction and Scottish literature, The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner is a terrifying tale of murder and amorality, and of one man's descent into madness and despair. In the first half of his new introduction David Blair provides a detailed explanation of the historical and religious contexts of Hogg's novel. The tale is chilling for its astute psychological accuracy as it illustrates, with power and economy, the dire effect of self-righteous bigotry on a fanatical character. A century later his memoirs reveal the extraordinary, macabre truth. Hogg's sinner, justified by his Calvinist conviction that his own salvation is pre-ordained, is suspected of involvement in a series of bizarre and hideous crimes.

In the early years of the 18th century, Scotland is torn by religious and political strife. With an Introduction and Notes by David Blair, University of Kent at Canterbury James Hogg's most ambitious prose work, The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner, is now widely acclaimed as his masterpiece.

The confessions of a justified sinner