The Shepherd's Calendar (James Hogg)

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The Shepherd's Calendar (1829) is a collection by James Hogg of 21 articles, most of which had appeared in Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine since 1819. They are set in, or deal with aspects of, the Scottish Borders, in particular Hogg's native Ettrick Forest.

Contents

Background

On 1 September 1825 Hogg proposed to William Blackwood that the 'Shepherd's Calendar' articles which had been appearing in Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine should be brought together in book form. [1] In June the following year Blackwood suggested that Hogg's nephew Robert might correct (basically, formalise) and alter (basically, censor) the contents, but in the autumn he put off publication blaming the stagnation of the market. [2] To Hogg's frustration, it was another three years before the two-volume set, wholly edited by Robert, saw the light of day. [3]

Editions

The Shepherd's Calendar. By James Hogg, Author of "The Queen's Wake," &c. &c. In two volumes was published by William Blackwood, Edinburgh, and T[homas] Cadell, London in 1829.

A critical edition edited by Douglas Mack appeared in 1995 as the first volume in The Stirling/South Carolina Research Edition of The Collected Works of James Hogg, published by Edinburgh University Press. This omits five items deemed not intended by Hogg to be included: 'Nancy Chisholm', 'The Prodigal Son', 'The School of Misfortune', 'The Marvellous Doctor', and 'A Strange Secret'. The items included are based on the texts originally published in Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, except for 'Storms' which takes the surviving manuscript as copy text.

Contents (1829)

(revised by Robert Hogg)

Volume One

I. 'Rob Dodds' (first published in Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine in March 1823 as 'The Shepherd's Calendar. Class Second. Deaths, Judgments, and Providences')

II. 'Mr Adamson of Laverhope' (first published in Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine in June 1823 as 'The Shepherd's Calendar. Class Second. Deaths, Judgments, and Providences')

III. 'The Prodigal Son' (first published in The Edinburgh Magazine, and Literary Miscellany in September and November 1821 as 'Pictures of Country Life. No. I. Old Isaac' and 'Pictures of Country Life. No. II. Continued from p. 219')

IV. 'The School of Misfortune' (first published in The Edinburgh Magazine, and Literary Miscellany in December 1821 as 'Pictures of Country Life. No. III. Continued from p. 452. The School of Misfortune')

V. 'George Dobson's Expedition to Hell' (first published, with No. VI, in Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine in May 1827 as 'The Shepherd's Calendar—By the Ettrick Shepherd. Dreams and Apparition. Containing George Dobson's Expedition to Hell, and the Souters of Selkirk.')

VI. 'The Souters of Selkirk' (first published in Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine in May 1827: see No. V)

VII. 'The Laird of Cassway' (first published in Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine in August 1827 as 'The Shepherd's Calendar. By the Ettrick Shepherd. Dreams and Apparitions.—Part IV')

VIII. 'Tibby Hyslop's Dream' (first published in Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine in June 1827 as 'The Shepherd's Calendar. Dreams and Apparitions.—Part II. Containing Tibby Hyslop's Dream, and the Sequel')

IX. 'Mary Burnet' (first published in Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine in February 1828 as 'The Shepherd's Calendar. Class IX. Fairies, Brownies, and Witches. By the Ettrick Shepherd')

X. 'The Brownie of the Black Haggs' (first published in Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine in October 1828 as 'The Brownie of the Black Haggs. By the Ettrick Shepherd')

XI. 'The Laird of Wineholm' (first published in Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine in July 1827 as 'The Shepherd's Calendar. Dreams and Apparitions, containing Smithy Cracks, &c. Part III')

Volume Two

I. 'Window Wat's Courtship' (first published in Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine in March 1824 and February 1825 as 'The Lasses')

II. 'A Strange Secret' (the first part first published in Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine in June 1828 as 'A Strange Secret. Related in a Letter from the Ettrick Shepherd'; the rest here published for the first time)

III. 'The Marvellous Doctor' (first published in Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine in September 1827)

IV. 'The Witches of Traquair' (first published in Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine in April 1828 as 'The Shepherd's Calendar. Class IX. Fairies, Deils, and Witches. By the Ettrick Shepherd')

V. 'Sheep' (first published in Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine in April 1827 as 'General Anecdotes. Sheep')

VI. 'Prayers' (first published in Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine in April 1827 as 'General Anecdotes. Prayers')

VII. 'Odd Characters' (first published in Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine in April 1827 as 'General Anecdotes. Odd Characters')

VIII 'Nancy Chisholm' (first publication here)

IX 'Snow-storms' (first published in Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine in April and May 1819 as 'The Shepherd's Calendar. Storms'; reprinted in Winter Evening Tales in 1820)

X. 'The Shepherd's Dog' (first published in Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine in February 1824 as 'The Shepherd's Calendar. Class IV. Dogs', and here combined with Hogg's earlier article in March 1818 'Further Anecdotes of the Shepherd's Dog')

Contents (1995)

(edited by Douglas Mack)

Storms

Rob Dodds

Mr Adamson of Laverhope

Dogs

The Lasses

General Anecdotes

George Dobson's Expedition to Hell and The Souters of Selkirk

Tibby Hyslop's Dream

Smithy Cracks

The Laird of Cassway

Mary Burnet

The Witches of Traquair

The Brownie of the Black Haggs

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References

  1. The Letters of James Hogg: Volume 2 1820‒1831, ed. Gillian Hughes (Edinburgh, 2006), 236.
  2. Douglas S. Mack, 'Hogg, Blackwood and The Shepherd's Calendar, Papers Given at the Second James Hogg Society Conference (Edinburgh 1985), ed. Gillian Hughes (Aberdeen, 1988), 24‒31 (25‒26).
  3. James Hogg, The Shepherd's Calendar, ed. Douglas S. Mack (Edinburgh, 1995), xv‒xvi.