“Mr. Lang’s account of his own ‘adventures among books’ is full of teaching and attractiveness. So indeed are all the papers that make up this volume.”
| + + | Spec. 94: 924. Je. 24, ‘05. 250w. |
Lang, Andrew. History of Scotland from the Roman occupation. V. 3, [*]$3.50. Dodd.
The period covered in the third volume of Mr. Lang’s history begins with the accession of Charles I., and continues to the end of Argyll’s rising, 1625-1688. “With always interesting details, he carefully considers successively the Protestant disruption, the riot in St. Giles’s church and its consequences, the bishops’ war, the Scotch invasion of England, the relations of the commonwealth to Scotland, finally the restoration.... It is true that the period was one of theological, political, and physical conflict, measured by the battles of Aberdeen, Auldearn, Alford, Kilsyth, Carbinsdale, Dunbar.... But out of the general swaying, struggling mass of men rise certain commanding figures who receive characteristic treatment from Mr. Lang—Hamilton, Montrose, Charles the First, Sharp, Argyll, Cromwell.” (Outlook).
“If the present volume maintains the standard of excellence set by its predecessors it does not escape the shortcomings that characterized them. The proportion is occasionally obscured and the connection of events lost sight of, by the inclusion of details which although interesting are unrelated. The disposition of the material and the general structure of the volume are, on the other hand, excellent; and some of the characterizations—notably those of the two Argylls, Montrose and Archbishop Sharp—are altogether vital and admirable.” Gaillard Thomas Lapsley.
| + + — | Am. Hist. R. 11: 150. O. ‘05. 1400w. |
“The impression received from this work is that the author is not attempting to write a formal history of Scotland, but is rather using the materials he has collected and studied to test the accuracy of earlier works by well-known authors. The result is that while those who are intimately familiar with the details of Scottish history will find Mr. Lang intensely interesting as a critic and as a shrewd investigator, uncovering new sources of information, the ordinary reader must frequently be puzzled to understand the connection and relation of events. But in respect to exact statement of doubtful events at least, Mr. Lang’s work is a fine example of modern scholarship, being based on a careful analysis of the documents and other sources available for the study of Scottish history.”
| + + — | Dial. 38: 19. Ja. 1, ‘05. 470w. |
“He is, as usual, at his best in appreciations of character, and, as usual, he sees important points which have generally been ignored. His work suffers somewhat from its great accuracy in points of detail. Mr. Lang has gone to the original sources, and ... he has thrown fresh light on many obscure topics, and he has brought a sane and enlightened judgment to bear on the numerous controverted issues in his story.”
| + + | Eng. Hist. R. 20: 799. O. ‘05. 710w. |