The House with the Green Shutters is a novel by the Scottish writer George Douglas Brown, first published in 1901 by John MacQueen. Set in mid-19th century Ayrshire, in the fictitious town of Barbie which is based on his native Ochiltree, it consciously violates the conventions of the sentimental kailyard school, and is sometimes quoted as an influence on the Scottish Renaissance.
The novel describes the struggles of a proud and taciturn carrier, John Gourlay, against the spiteful comments and petty machinations of the envious and idle villagers of Barbie (the "bodies").[1] The sudden return after fifteen years' absence of the ambitious merchant James Wilson, son of a mole-catcher, leads to commercial competition against which Gourlay has trouble responding.
After the arrival of the railway, Gourlay's position worsens and he begins to invest his hopes and money in his neurotic son, John, who cannot live up to his expectations. His scatterbrained wife and daughter live in terror of his ferocious temper and take refuge in novelettes and daydreaming.
The symbol of the family's prosperity is their expensive house in the middle of the town:
Both in appearance and position the house was a worthy counterpart of its owner. It was a substantial two-storey dwelling, planted firm and gawcey on a little natural terrace that projected a considerable distance into the Square. At the foot of the steep little bank shelving to the terrace ran a stone wall, of no great height, and the iron railings it uplifted were no higher than the sward within. Thus the whole house was bare to the view from the ground up, nothing in front to screen its admirable qualities. From each corner, behind, flanking walls went out to the right and left, and hid the yard and the granaries. In front of these walls the dwelling seemed to thrust itself out for notice.
—from Chapter III
Criticism
A great deal of the success that the novel enjoyed was the result of its sheer novelty. It was said to be the first "truthful" picture of Scottish life since the death of John Galt, and a welcome antidote to the so-called kailyard school of writing which described rural Scotland sentimentally as a group of peaceful and harmonious communities helping one another through difficult times. The novel is filled with interesting people, described without much sympathy, and is well-stocked with the author's musings on life and the Scottish character. Most adverse criticism focuses on the book's tendencies towards melodrama.
The positive reaction greatly encouraged Brown who planned another novel called The Incompatibles and a book on his "rules of writing"; however both were never to be finished, due to the author's death.
It was an inspiration to Lewis Grassic Gibbon, Hugh MacDiarmid, and many other writers of the next generation. Jorge Luis Borges said in an interview that it was the first English-language novel he ever read, and that after reading it he "wanted to be Scotch."[2] Its wisdom and scepticism retain interest for modern readers.
Plot summary
Prosperity
Chapter I. On a weekday morning at eight, Gourlay's twelve carts set off together, and are watched by all in the Square.
Chapter II. Describes how Gourlay dominates the carrying business in the town, and how his rights to the local quarry (due to expire in two years) were granted to him by the Laird of Templandmuir. Introduces Toddle, the Deacon, the Provost, and Coe.
Chapter III. Introduces his 12-year-old son, John Gourlay, and describes the House with the Green Shutters.
Chapter IV. Introduces Mrs Gourlay and her daughter Janet. The orra man, Jock Gilmour, hits John, then quarrels with his mother and father. He is dismissed.
Chapter V. Gilmour boasts to the "bodies" about the quarrel. They talk about how Gourlay was cheated by his builder Gibson. Later, when Gourlay passes, the bodies, led by the Deacon, ask him for access to his property in order to tap a spring, which would provide running water for the town. He refuses.
Chapter VI. After John passes on his way to school, the bodies start discussing him. Johnny Coe tells the story of the boy's birth, when Jock Gourlay's stubbornness endangered his life.
Chapter VII. At noon, John is hurt by Swipey Broon, and he runs away from school.
Chapter VIII. John runs home and hides in the attic. After Janet comes home from school, he goes downstairs to find his father showing off his new fender to Grant of Loranogie.
The interloper
Chapter IX. James Wilson returns to Barbie after fifteen years' absence, during which he has become a successful businessman. He accosts Gourlay, who slights him.
Chapter X. James Wilson moves into town. He converts Rab Jamieson's barn into an Emporium.
Chapter XI. Wilson's business encroaches on Gourlay's. When Wilson spoils his bargaining, Gourlay is so angry that he accidentally breaks his own walking-stick.
Chapter XII. Templandmuir, on Wilson's request, asks Gourlay to attend a public meeting about the new railway. At the meeting, Gourlay is humiliated; after he storms out, Templandmuir takes the opportunity to tell him his lease of the quarry will not be renewed. Gourlay, furious, returns home and hits his wife.
Chapter XIII. Four years have passed since Wilson's arrival. Johnny Gibson helps Wilson lay a plan to keep Gourlay's carts busy, so that he will later miss a better opportunity which Wilson can make use of. This is done by having him sign a contract eight weeks in advance. Once Gourlay realises he has been tricked, he refuses to honour the contract. When Gibson remonstrates with him, Gourlay throws him through the window of the Red Lion Inn.
Chapter XIV. In order to keep up with the Wilsons, Gourlay has sent his son to the High School of Skeighan. John often plays truant; one day, when his father catches him, he drags him to the school and throws him at the headmaster.
Chapter XV. Gourlay's pony "Tam" dies. Forced to use the bus, he overhears that Wilson's son is to go to Edinburgh to study, and Gourlay resolves to send John there too.
John's career
Chapter XVI. John takes the train to Edinburgh. A description of his impressionable character.
Chapter XVII. John and young Jimmy Wilson are invited to dinner by Jock Allan, where they meet Tarmillan, Logan, Tozer and old Partan. The conversation turns to Bauldy Johnston, an acquaintance, and his skill at phrase-making.
Chapter XVIII. In his second year at Edinburgh, John wins the Raeburn Prize for his essay on "An Arctic Night."
Chapter XIX. John returns home at night, very proud. He notices that his mother is perhaps not well.
Chapter XX. He struts around Barbie, smoking cigarettes. During his summer holidays, he acquires a habit of drinking to excess.
Chapter XXI. John is scandalously drunk.
Chapter XXII. John leaves for Edinburgh, slighting the Deacon as he goes. Gourlay is forced to dismiss his last worker, Peter Riney.
Chapter XXIII. John is expelled from the university. What with the serious illnesses of Janet and Mrs Gourlay, the family is on the brink of financial ruin.
The end
Chapter XXIV. Gourlay receives a letter informing him of his son's disgrace. On his way to borrow £80 from Johnny Coe, the "bodies" of Barbie watch him and make veiled insults.
Chapter XXV. Gourlay confronts his son and there is a ferocious brawl. John takes momentary refuge at the Red Lion, but gets into a fight with Brodie. On his return, they grapple again, and John hits his father with the huge poker, killing him instantly.
Chapter XXVI. They send for the doctor, claiming that Gourlay fell from the ladder. John starts to go insane. Mrs Gourlay discovers that their mortgage is to be foreclosed. John is sent to Glasgow to see if anything can be done.
Chapter XXVII. John returns, without success. He poisons himself. After discovering his body, both Janet (who has tuberculosis) and Mrs Gourlay (who has breast cancer) poison themselves. Their corpses are discovered the next morning.
List of characters
John Gourlay, the carrier of Barbie
John Gourlay, his son
Janet Gourlay, his daughter
Mrs Gourlay (Miss Richmond of Tenshillingland)
Peter Riney, his old assistant
James Wilson and his wife, owners of the Emporium
Old Tarmillan of Irrendavie (ch.11)
The Laird of Templandmuir, who granted him rights to the quarry (ch.2, 12)
Johnny Gibson, who built the house (ch.5, 13)
Grant of Loranogie, a wealthy farmer (ch.8)
Jock Allan, a middle-aged actuary at Edinburgh (ch.17)
Andy Gow and Elshie Hogg, carters in Gourlay's employ (ch.1)
Jimmy Bain and Sandy Cross, two other employees (ch.24)
Drucken Wallace and his wife
Cunningham the dirty and Calderwood the drunken, grocers (ch.11)
Widow Wallace (ch.5)
MacCandlish, headmaster of Skeighan High School (ch.14)
The dominie (headmaster) of the primary school (ch.15)
Auld Tam, or "Aquinas", a professor at Edinburgh (ch.18)
Dramatisation
An adaptation of the novel for the stage by Gerard Mulgrew was produced by Communicado at the Lyceum Studio Theatre on the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August 1989, with Sandy Welch in the role of John Gourlay.[3]
Further reading
Craig, Cairns (1980), Fearful Selves: Character, Community and the Scottish Imagination, in Cencrastus No. 4, Winter 1980–81, pp.29 – 32, ISSN0264-0856
↑ From Chapter V: In every little Scotch community there is a distinct type known as the "bodie." "What does he do, that man?" you may ask, and the answer will be, "Really, I could hardly tell ye what he does – he's juist a bodie!" The "bodie" may be a gentleman of independent means (...) or he may be a jobbing gardener; but he is equally a "bodie." The chief occupation of his idle hours (and his hours are chiefly idle) is the discussion of his neighbour's affairs.
TamLin is a character in a legendary ballad originating from the Scottish Borders. It is also associated with a reel of the same name, also known as the Glasgow Reel. The story revolves around the rescue of Tam Lin by his true love from the Queen of the Fairies. The motif of winning a person by holding him through all forms of transformation is found throughout Europe in folktales.
Waverley; or, ’Tis Sixty Years Since is a historical novel by Walter Scott (1771–1832). Scott was already famous as a poet, and chose to publish Waverley anonymously in 1814 as his first venture into prose fiction. It is often regarded as one of the first historical novels in the Western tradition.
Greyfriars Bobby was a Skye Terrier or Dandie Dinmont Terrier who became known in 19th-century Edinburgh for spending 14 years guarding the grave of his owner until he died on 14 January 1872. The story continues to be well known in Scotland, through several books and films. A prominent commemorative statue and nearby graves are a tourist attraction.
George Douglas Brown was a Scottish novelist, best known for his highly influential realist novel The House with the Green Shutters (1901), which was published the year before his death at the age of 33.
William Brodie, often known by his title of Deacon Brodie, was a Scottish cabinet-maker, deacon of a trades guild, and Edinburgh city councillor, who maintained a secret life as a burglar, partly for the thrill, and partly to fund his gambling.
The Bride of Lammermoor is a historical novel by Sir Walter Scott, published in 1819, one of the Waverley novels. The novel is set in the Lammermuir Hills of south-east Scotland, shortly before the Act of Union of 1707, or shortly after the Act. It tells of a tragic love affair between young Lucy Ashton and her family's enemy Edgar Ravenswood. Scott indicated the plot was based on an actual incident. The Bride of Lammermoor and A Legend of Montrose were published together anonymously as the third of Scott's Tales of My Landlord series. The story is the basis for Donizetti's 1835 opera Lucia di Lammermoor.
Old Mortality is one of the Waverley novels by Walter Scott. Set in south west Scotland, it forms, along with The Black Dwarf, the 1st series of his Tales of My Landlord (1816). The novel deals with the period of the Covenanters, featuring their victory at Loudoun Hill and their defeat at Bothwell Bridge, both in June 1679; a final section is set in 1689 at the time of the royalist defeat at Killiecrankie.
The Heart of Mid-Lothian is the seventh of Sir Walter Scott's Waverley Novels. It was originally published in four volumes on 25 July 1818, under the title of Tales of My Landlord, 2nd series, and the author was given as "Jedediah Cleishbotham, Schoolmaster and Parish-clerk of Gandercleugh". The main action, which takes place between September 1736 and May 1737, is set in motion by the Porteous Riots in Edinburgh and involves an epic journey from Edinburgh to London by a working-class girl to obtain a royal commutation of the death penalty incurred by her sister for the alleged murder of her new-born baby. Despite some negative contemporary reviews, some now consider it Scott's best novel.
Corstorphine is an area of the Scottish capital city of Edinburgh. Formerly a separate village and parish to the west of Edinburgh, it is now a suburb of the city, having been formally incorporated into it in 1920.
William Dummer Powell was a Loyalist lawyer, judge and political figure in Upper Canada.
The Fair Maid of Perth is an 1828 novel by Sir Walter Scott, one of the Waverley novels. Inspired by the strange, but historically true, story of the Battle of the North Inch, it is set in Perth and other parts of Scotland around 1400.
Sir George Lockhart of Carnwath was a Scottish advocate, judge and commissioner to parliament who was murdered.
Greyfriars Bobby is a 1961 American drama film starring Donald Crisp and Laurence Naismith in a story about two Scottish men who compete for the affection of a Skye Terrier named Bobby. The screenplay by Robert Westerby was based upon the 1912 novel Greyfriars Bobby by Eleanor Atkinson which was based, in turn, upon an incident in 19th century Edinburgh involving a dog that came to be known as Greyfriars Bobby. It was the second film based upon Atkinson's novel, the first being Challenge to Lassie in which Crisp also starred. The film was directed by Don Chaffey and shot at Shepperton Studios and on location in Scotland. The film has been released to DVD and Disney+.
The novel in Scotland includes all long prose fiction published in Scotland and by Scottish authors since the development of the literary format in the eighteenth century. The novel was soon a major element of Scottish literary and critical life. Tobias Smollett's picaresque novels, such as The Adventures of Roderick Random and The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle mean that he is often seen as Scotland's first novelist. Other Scots who contributed to the development of the novel in the eighteenth century include Henry Mackenzie and John Moore.
John Arnot of Birswick (Orkney) (1530–1616) was a 16th-century Scottish merchant and landowner who served as Lord Provost of Edinburgh from 1587 to 1591 and from 1608 to death. He was Deputy Treasurer to King James VI.
Robert Gourlay or Robin Gourlaw was a wealthy Edinburgh merchant and Customar of Edinburgh who built a renowned house in Edinburgh.
The Three Perils of Man; or, War, Women, and Witchcraft. A Border Romance (1822) is a novel by James Hogg set in the Scottish Borders during the reign of Robert II, King of Scots (1371–90).
James Coutts was a Scottish politician, merchant and founder of the Coutts & Co. bank.
James Mosman or Mossman was a Scottish goldsmith. He and his son John Mosman were supporters of the cause of Mary, Queen of Scots. James Mosman was executed in 1573 for counterfeiting coins in Edinburgh Castle. John Mosman carried letters for Mary, Queen of Scots, and was under surveillance by Francis Walsingham.
Michael Gilbert was an Edinburgh goldsmith and financier.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
