The Scots
Published:1980 Newton Abbot, Devon, David & Charles1980 New York, Times Books
Comments:
"Cliff Hanley is entertaining and has the endurance to keep it up even in so vast and diverse a work as this. The Scots is a delightful guided tour to the nation's noble prospects - not forgetting the less noble ones. It will amuse, inform and entertain Highlanders, Lowlanders and Sassenachs alike."Glasgow Herald
One popular view of the Scots, says Clifford Hanley, is that they are “tall, rugged people who live in mountain fastnesses on a diet of oatmeal porridge and whisky, playing the deafening bagpipes”. Perhaps. Andrew Carnegie and Robert Burns, the ship’s engineers who have sailed the seas for some two centuries, the comedian, Harry Lauder (who is still remembered so many years after his death) and the philosopher, David Hume, are more typical of a nation of extravagantly disparate characters.
Clifford Hanley, a leading Scottish writer and novelist, and a thorough Scot, steps back and assesses notable Scotsmen through history to today, showing them as they were, as they are seen abroad – and as some of them would like to be regarded, kilts, sporrans, warts, broad speech and all. Proud of his ancestry, he takes nevertheless a reasonable objective, certainly radical and gaff-blowing view which is well nigh as critical as that of these lesser folk who resent Scottish influence the world over. As a novelist and journalist in Glasgow all his life, who has won recognition abroad, he himself refutes Dr. Johnson’s remark that “the noblest prospect which a Scotsman sees is the highroad that leads to England”, but he has the ability and sense of humour to appreciate that Scots can be traditionally pawky and guilty of snobbery and arrogance. Bonnie Prince Charlie, for example, is not one of his heroes and he has no illusions as to why so many Scots emigrated to Canada and the United States last century. He does not overlook, though, their achievements in all fields of life – engineering, education, the sciences and arts. Although the Clyde is no longer the world centre of shipbuilding it is still important, and research in engineering and the sciences goes on and the arts flourish in Scotland as never before.
His discussion of Scottish characters inevitably includes all manner of insights into history and customs be it Hogmanay, music, golf and (why not) whisky drinking and distilling. This last is generally regarded today as Scotland’s greatest export ut, says Hanley, it is not; it is still Scots. This is an endearing book, written for the pleasure and pure fun it will give to all who are conscious of having Scottish blood in their veins or who do not spurn a glass of the national drink; and, quite incidentally, it is a most readable history of a nation as seen through its people. Clifford Hanley never covers up for them but the charm and sly humour of his book will give lie to the pejorative (unspeakable Scot”).
Clifford Hanley, a leading Scottish writer and novelist, and a thorough Scot, steps back and assesses notable Scotsmen through history to today, showing them as they were, as they are seen abroad – and as some of them would like to be regarded, kilts, sporrans, warts, broad speech and all. Proud of his ancestry, he takes nevertheless a reasonable objective, certainly radical and gaff-blowing view which is well nigh as critical as that of these lesser folk who resent Scottish influence the world over. As a novelist and journalist in Glasgow all his life, who has won recognition abroad, he himself refutes Dr. Johnson’s remark that “the noblest prospect which a Scotsman sees is the highroad that leads to England”, but he has the ability and sense of humour to appreciate that Scots can be traditionally pawky and guilty of snobbery and arrogance. Bonnie Prince Charlie, for example, is not one of his heroes and he has no illusions as to why so many Scots emigrated to Canada and the United States last century. He does not overlook, though, their achievements in all fields of life – engineering, education, the sciences and arts. Although the Clyde is no longer the world centre of shipbuilding it is still important, and research in engineering and the sciences goes on and the arts flourish in Scotland as never before.
His discussion of Scottish characters inevitably includes all manner of insights into history and customs be it Hogmanay, music, golf and (why not) whisky drinking and distilling. This last is generally regarded today as Scotland’s greatest export ut, says Hanley, it is not; it is still Scots. This is an endearing book, written for the pleasure and pure fun it will give to all who are conscious of having Scottish blood in their veins or who do not spurn a glass of the national drink; and, quite incidentally, it is a most readable history of a nation as seen through its people. Clifford Hanley never covers up for them but the charm and sly humour of his book will give lie to the pejorative (unspeakable Scot”).
Copyright 2025 The Estate of Clifford Hanley