Confessions and Criticism — James Hogg

According to Wikipedia: James Hogg (1770 - 21 November 1835) was a Scottish poet and novelist who wrote in both Scots and English... n 1801, Hogg visited Edinburgh for the first time. His first collection, The Mountain Bard, was published in 1807 but he struggled to make an impact on the literary scene. Another venture, a magazine, The Spy failed after a year. But his epic story-poem, The Queen's Wake (the setting being the return to Scotland of Mary, Queen of Scots (1561) after her exile in France), was published in 1813 and was a success. Now a well-known literary figure (if often mocked for his rustic accent and appearance), he was recruited by William Blackwood for Blackwood's Magazine...What is known is that in 1824, no longer highly regarded in Edinburgh, largely excluded from Blackwood's, now in his fifties but with a young family, and writing desperately quickly for money to try to save his failing farm, Hogg wrote his famous tale of persecution, delusion, devilish mimickry and tortured consciousness: The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner.