History Scotland Magazine: Review - The New Penguin History of Scotland

The New Penguin History of Scotland

R.A. Houston and W.W. Knox (eds).

Allen Lane The Penguin Press, in association with the National Museums of Scotland, 2001. pp. lix + 573 incl. 3 sections of colour plates, 25.00 Hardback.

It doesnt seem that long ago since books on Scottish history could be divided into two distinct categories: the popular works of Prebble, Tranter et al; and the academic works fit only for the eyes of the serious scholar. There were exceptions, of course T C Smouts History and Century of the Scottish People quietly but effectively worked its way into the affections and consciousness of countless numbers of Scots interested in their history, not just the antics of the elites. But the criticisms remained. Academics questioned the scholarship of the popular books and the wider public lamented the apparent inability of most academics to write accessibly about subjects of general interest.

Well, things have certainly changed. Now the bookshelves are positively groaning under the outpourings of Scottish historians on subjects of every kind. And many of these volumes are explicitly geared to a general audience, the historical profession having finally accepted its responsibility to communicate recent findings to the average interested Scottish taxpayer (and beyond).

The New Penguin History of Scotland is a multi-authored volume creating an excellent synthesis of current understandings of the last 10,000 years of Scottish history. It also, in parts, breaks new ground in how we tell the story of the national past, largely eschewing a traditional narrative for a more thematic approach within sequential chronological blocks. It is clear that the editors, Rab Houston and Bill Knox, thought long and hard, in conjunction, presumably, with their authors, about the type of history they wished to present. In the freshness of the understanding of Scottish history thus conveyed to the reader, they are to be congratulated, not least because getting academics to pull in the same direction is usually described as being akin to herding cats.

However, The New Penguin History is also a testament to the progress that has been made in Scottish history in the last twenty years. This is not a volume for beginners, since the decision to move away from a straightforward narrative account means that the reader must have a basic working knowledge of the subject to make the most of it. We already have these large-scale narratives in, for example, Michael Lynchs Scotland: A New History and Tom Devines History of the Scottish Nation, both of which were highly successful. It is entirely worthy of post-devolution Scotland that this new history is confident enough to treat the national past as a series of issues and themes, moving away from the sense of inevitability which can dog chronological accounts, useful though they are.

Such a bold enterprise is not without pitfalls. It is, for example, an unnecessary hostage to fortune to state, as the editors do in their wonderful introduction, that they are attempting to tell Scotlands story as closely as possible to the way it was [p.xiv]. Considering how difficult it is to get any group of people to agree on what happened yesterday, given that history will always be a matter of interpretation even over agreed facts, this is far too Modernist an approach to history for our own times. We historians should no longer be fighting over The Truth, however much we should be on our guard against prejudice and prejudgement. As a medievalist, I also had the sense that the editors, who are modern historians, felt a little uncomfortable generalising about the earlier periods. For example, they seem to have found it very difficult not to apply tests for modern nationalism to parts of history where these were not an issue.

But these are minor quibbles. We might agree with Ian Armit that one chapter is not sufficient to encompass the complexity of 8000 years of prehistoric Scotland but we must applaud his infinitely comprehensible account of it. The second chapter on the formation of the kingdom of Scotland is also a skilful mixture of politics, geography, archaeology and culture which does not neglect the wider context within which the developing kingdom operated. The third chapter, on Medieval Scotland, deserves particular praise. For once the wars of independence do not overshadow what is a far more complex and multi-faceted period. Medieval historians (including myself) must look again at their obsession with war and politics.

The move into the early modern period brings the thorny issue of religion or more particularly, the Reformation and the Covenanting era into the heart of the history. Keith Brown does well to maintain some balance between the key religious issues and the economic and social emphases of the book so far. If the chapter ends with more of a chronological account than we have seen so far, then perhaps that is still the best way to deal with key historical moments. Bruce Lenman reverts to a more thematic exploration of the eighteenth century, including a sophisticated analysis of the highlands without becoming overwhelmed by Jacobitism. It is intriguing, however, to be presented with pages on Enlightenment, but not much on Improvement which must have touched so many more lives.

The next two chapters dealing with modern Scotland are also impressive syntheses of many aspects of the Scottish experience, though one might have expected to see more on the Empire. Women could also complain that the twentieth century is still predominantly defined by the rise and fall of Scotlands heavy manufacturing industry. The last chapter dealing with Scotland post-1978 is the most difficult to comment upon.Christopher Harvies eclectic summary undoubtedly covers much of what has happened, but the reader does not really get a sense of what it all adds up to. It is a feature which reinforces the prejudice that history requires distance from the subject matter before perspective emerges.

Ultimately this is a wonderfully diverse, grown-up history. Accessibly written, without ever patronising the reader, the spirit of Scotlands past is given new life in these pages.

Fiona Watson,
University of Stirling