Some Passages in the Life of Mr Adam Blair, Minister of the Gospel at Cross-Miekle

Book excerpt: Offers Lockhart's final text to modern readers for the first timeOffers the first scholarly edition of Lockhart's best-know novel based on Lockhart's final textSupplies extensive annotation and full scholarly apparatusIncludes a thorough textual history based on comparative study of the manuscript, corrected proof pages, first edition, and second editionSome Passages in the Life of Mr Adam Blair (1822), John Gibson Lockhart's second and best-known novel, is the story of a Church of Scotland minister whose sexual relationship with a married woman has tragic consequences. One of the earliest serious studies in fiction of a minister in Scottish society, the novel also explores gender roles through the character of Blair's friend in the affair, Charlotte. This edition provides the first modern publication of Lockhart's final text, the revised second edition (1824), as well as the first scholarly edition of the novel, including extensive annotations and a detailed textual history.