Neil Gunn has long been recognized in Scotland as one of the well-springs of the literary renaissance of the 1920s and 1930s. In this study the varied criticism of Gunn and the reasons for his neglect outside Scotland are sharply examined as the author assesses Gunn as a writer of European stature.

Neil Gunn is now generally accepted as the most significant novelist the Highlands of Scotland have produced. This study examines the scope and depth of his work and asseses him as a writer of European stature.