This study explores the complex role of language as an instrument of empire in eighteenth-century British literature. Focusing on the relationship between England and one of its "Celtic colonies," Scotland, Janet Sorensen examines how the expansion of the British empire influenced the formation of a national standard English. The book demonstrates the ambivalence at the heart of British linguistic identity, moving from a close analysis of Scottish writers Alexander MacDonald, Adam Smith, Hugh Blair, and Tobias Smollett to a revised understanding of the language use of Samuel Johnson and Jane...

This original collection of critical essays devoted to Scottish writing between 1745 and 1830 includes essays by leading scholars from Scotland, England, Canada and the U.S. Addressing a range of major figures and topics, the essays examine their relationship to the concepts of the Scottish Enlightenment and British literary Romanticism as well as to Scottish and English writing.

This original collection of critical essays devoted to Scottish writing between 1745 and 1830 includes essays by leading scholars from Scotland, England, Canada and the U.S. Addressing a range of major figures and topics, the essays examine their relationship to the concepts of the Scottish Enlightenment and British literary Romanticism as well as to Scottish and English writing.