Ecology and Modern Scottish Literature

A provocative and timely reconsideration of modern Scottish literature in the light of ecological thought. Louisa Gairn demonstrates the contribution of successive generations of Scottish writers to the development of international ecological theory and philosophy. She revisits the works of Robert Louis Stevenson, John Muir, Nan Shepherd, John Burnside, Kathleen Jamie, and George Mackay Brown, among others, to reveal the significance of ecological thought across Scottish literary culture. By tracing the scientific, philosophical, and political influence of ecology on these writers, Gairn presents an original understanding of Scottish literature from the mid-nineteenth century to the present. In an age of environmental crisis, Ecology and Modern Scottish Literature points to a heritage of ecological thought that is of vital relevance to both Scottish literary culture and the wider field of green studies.