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Title: The Brownie of Bodsbeck
Author: James Hogg (The Ettrick Shepherd)
Year of Publication: 1818 (19th century)
Genre: Historical Fiction, Politics, Social ObservationReligion,
Plot Summary: Novel set in the 17th century Border hamlet of Chapelhope (parish of Ettrick), where Walter Ladilaw is a farmer who risks his own and his family's safety by allowing persecuted Covenanters to hide and feed themselves on his land. Meanwhile, his daughter Katherine is suspected - even by her relations - of witchcraft, and of communing with a local "monster", the Brownie of Bodsbeck. Despite no real evidence against him, and after various atrocities committed by the King's men,Walter is arrested on suspicion of hiding traitors, and is sent to Edinburgh for trial. During his absence, Katherine is abused by a supposedly protective minister, but is rescued by the Brownie. However, her relationship with the creature is misunderstood when Walter finally returns, and he is reluctantly determined to denounce her until she reveals the truth. The Brownie is in fact a hideously wounded leader of the Covenanters who has been hiding in the hills in a secret cave.
Hogg's novel examines religious, political and cultural themes, these being intricately woven into the landscape and changing seasons of the Border countryside.
Publisher: Scottish Academic Press
ISBN: 0701121157
SITEMAP | LINKS | TERMS & CONDITIONS | © Edinburgh Film Focus 2009
Home | Title detail page
Title: The Brownie of Bodsbeck
Author: James Hogg (The Ettrick Shepherd)
Year of Publication: 1818 (19th century)
Genre: Historical Fiction, Politics, Social ObservationReligion,
Plot Summary: Novel set in the 17th century Border hamlet of Chapelhope (parish of Ettrick), where Walter Ladilaw is a farmer who risks his own and his family's safety by allowing persecuted Covenanters to hide and feed themselves on his land. Meanwhile, his daughter Katherine is suspected - even by her relations - of witchcraft, and of communing with a local "monster", the Brownie of Bodsbeck. Despite no real evidence against him, and after various atrocities committed by the King's men,Walter is arrested on suspicion of hiding traitors, and is sent to Edinburgh for trial. During his absence, Katherine is abused by a supposedly protective minister, but is rescued by the Brownie. However, her relationship with the creature is misunderstood when Walter finally returns, and he is reluctantly determined to denounce her until she reveals the truth. The Brownie is in fact a hideously wounded leader of the Covenanters who has been hiding in the hills in a secret cave.
Hogg's novel examines religious, political and cultural themes, these being intricately woven into the landscape and changing seasons of the Border countryside.
Publisher: Scottish Academic Press
ISBN: 0701121157
SITEMAP | LINKS | TERMS & CONDITIONS | © Edinburgh Film Focus 2009