A History of Everyday Life in Scotland, 1600-1800

Edited by Christopher A. Whatley and Elizabeth Foyster

The experiences of everyday Scotland has undergone profound political, religious, and economic change over the past two centuries. This team of authors examine how far the extraordinary has impinged on the Scottish ordinary and the extent to which population growth, urbanization, agricultural developments, and political and religious upheaval have impacted the daily patterns, rhythms, and rituals of common people.

The authors uncover a wealth of surprising detail about the anxieties, joys, comforts, passions, hopes, and fears of Scots, tracing how the impact of change varies according to geographical location, social position, and gender. The authors draw on a wide and eclectic range of primary and secondary sources, including the material remains of town and country life. Also consulted are artifacts of government, religion, ideas, painting, literature, and architecture, providing fresh insight into how Scots communicated with each other, understood themselves, managed social conflict, and coped with illness and death.

Related Subjects

• Scottish Studies

Series

• History of Everyday Life in Scotland

About the Author

Christopher A. Whatley is professor of Scottish history, vice-principal, and head of the College of Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Dundee. A fellow of the Royal Historical Society and of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, he is currently coeditor of the four-volume History of Everyday Life in Scotland series to be published by Edinburgh University Press.

Elizabeth Foyster is lecturer in history at Clare College, University of Cambridge.

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