BOOK REVIEW: John F. McCaffrey.SCOTLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. Basingstoke: Macmillan; New York: St. Martin's Press, 1998.

Abstract

The 1990s was a fruitful decade for research on nineteenth-century Scottish history and John McCaffrey's short volume, which incorporates much of the recent material, provides a welcome overview of the period. The author took on a daunting remit to produce the book--part of Macmillan's series "British History in Perspective"--condensing the complex and sometimes convoluted history of Scotland into five comprehensive chapters. Moreover, although the title specifies the nineteenth century, the narrative extends to 1914. Understandably, McCaffrey had to be selective in his approach, and focuses overwhelmingly on political and administrative developments. Teachers of modern Scottish history are well aware that this can be a notoriously unfriendly area for students, largely because of the seemingly arcane debates that surrounded issues such as religion and the reform ethos. However, McCaffrey has a grasp of the intricacies of the nineteenth-century political process, which he uses to illuminate the continuities and changes that underpinned Scottish society at this time. Anyone seeking a concise explanation of the significance of the 1843 Disruption of the Church of Scotland, or an assessment of the multi-faceted qualities of late-Victorian Scottish liberalism, should start by looking here.