HOGG, James.

£17,500 · Offered by Peter Harrington · No longer available

The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner: Written by Himself. First edition of Hogg's gothic masterpiece, "one of the great classics of supernatural fiction [and] perhaps the finest English [language] supernatural novel of its century" (Bleiler). Of the 1,000 copies printed, over half were remaindered due to slow sales. The book's antagonist, Calvinist fanatic and murderer Robert Wringhim, is one of the most famous unreliable narrators in the Western literary canon. Wringhim's narrative describes how he was led to his various crimes, including murder, by his mysterious companion Gil-Martin, who is only occasionally visible to others. This shadowy figure has been variously interpreted as the devil, Wringhim's twin, and a delusion inspired by religious fanaticism. As Wringhim is increasingly controlled by Gil-Martin, his mental state deteriorates, and he begins to confuse his own actions and beliefs with those of his malignant companion. The elusive characterization of Gil-Martin and Wringhim's unstable sense of self opened "a new vein of horror by denying the possibility or even the existence of any psychological unity" (Barron). Robert Louis Stevenson, who likely took inspiration from Hogg's novel for Jekyll and Hyde, described the work as "without doubt a real work of imagination, ponderated and achieved... I never read a book that went on the same road with the Sinner" (Letters, VII, p. 125).The author was concerned with printing standards, and the edition

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