This is an extremely well researched and written biography of one of the most important and, till now, most neglected figures in nineteenth-century Scottish life.
Pol O Dochartaigh Modern Language Review Wallace's detailed biographical account is illuminating... In an age of bloated biographies, this book is a model of lucid concision.
Mick Morris, Open University Creative Studies Annual ... Read moreThe interest of Blackie's lisfe does not lie in his works, to which few will nw turn, but in the milieux in which he moved, and these are evoked by Wallace in this entertaining book with great skill and sensitivity and with indefatigable scholarship.
R. D. Anderson History: The Journal of the Historical Association Wallace has undertaken a commendable task in revealing Blackie, the man, and placing him in the academic, social, political, national and international context through which he lived.
Iain Hutchison History Scotland Stuart Wallace's new biogrpahy has much to commend it: lucidly written, it marshals data and offers shrewd comment on social contexts, Scotland's universities, British and European identities and the role Blackie played in reforming priorities in Scottish educational and political self-determination... Blackie was legendary in his time. This book is a valuable reminder of why, and of the unfinished victories he spent his life struggling for. Every library should have a copy.
Alan Riach, University of Glasgow Scottish Studies Newsletter This is an extremely well researched and written biography of one of the most important and, till now, most neglected figures in nineteenth-century Scottish life. Wallace's detailed biographical account is illuminating... In an age of bloated biographies, this book is a model of lucid concision. The interest of Blackie's lisfe does not lie in his works, to which few will nw turn, but in the milieux in which he moved, and these are evoked by Wallace in this entertaining book with great skill and sensitivity and with indefatigable scholarship. Wallace has undertaken a commendable task in revealing Blackie, the man, and placing him in the academic, social, political, national and international context through which he lived. Stuart Wallace's new biogrpahy has much to commend it: lucidly written, it marshals data and offers shrewd comment on social contexts, Scotland's universities, British and European identities and the role Blackie played in reforming priorities in Scottish educational and political self-determination... Blackie was legendary in his time. This book is a valuable reminder of why, and of the unfinished victories he spent his life struggling for. Every library should have a copy. Show Less