num_pages: 296
description: 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. 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. The memoirs are presented by a narrator whose attempts to explain the story only succeed in intensifying its more baffling and bizarre aspects. 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. Copious notes identify the novel's historical, biblical, theological, and literary allusions.
language: English
title: The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner
titlecomplete: The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner (The World's Classics)
characters: Robert Wringhim
genres: Fiction, Religion, Gothic, Scotland, Horror, Literature, Classics, Novels, 19th Century, Historical Fiction
ratings_count: 8488
places: Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland
awards: awardedAt: -694281600000
name: Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger
category: Roman, awardedAt: 978336000000
name: Times Literary Supplement
category: Book of the Year
publisher: Oxford University Press