The essays in this volume revalue the work of the Romantic-era Scottish writer John Galt, connecting his methods and goals with Scottish Enlightenment "conjectural" historiography and with later social theorizing. Emphasizing the construction, representation and use of social knowledge, the essays find new meaning in Galt's perceptions of the Atlantic and Mediterranean worlds in which he traveled, his attitudes toward community building and progress, and his innovations in fiction, drama, journalism and biography.

This is a guide to the main developments in the history of British and Irish literature, charting some of the main features of literary language development and highlighting key language topics.

Vols. for 1871-76, 1913-14 include an extra number, The Christmas bookseller, separately paged and not included in the consecutive numbering of the regular series.