66 The House that Viewed the World

by John D.O. Fulton, Alexander McCall Smith (Foreword)

The builder of the White House, the hero of Aboukir Bay, a murderer who inspired  Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde , a decadent society hostess… Set in 66 Queen Street, a townhouse in Edinburgh’s New Town, this book tells the story of people and events associated with the house for 210 years from 1790 and whose lives were empowered by the Scottish Enlightenment. The diverse characters range from heroes to villains, and from people of conscience to subjects of tabloid scandal and moral prurience. Edinburgh emerges from its past to become the intellectual, banking and professional capital of an enlightened Scotland. The story reflects how our modern world is shaped but above all it is about its people; some masters of their circumstances and others prisoners

300 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2019

Reviews

[Ronald Schoedel III · Rating 4 out of 5]

A work of personal interest and passion, no doubt, and it shows. A clever concept, taking stories related to people who lived or worked in a particular house in Edinburgh’s New Town, and creating a narrative history of Edinburgh’s interesting (but not always famous) personalities and events.

The stories are varying levels of interest for me, but span the gamut of topics from murder, banking scandals, the invention of modern anesthesia, the elopement of the daughter of one of the world’s wealthiest men, to a possible trans-gender inheritance of a baronetcy in the 1960s. All in all a fascinating work.

For many of the stories the connection to 66 Queen Street is somewhat attenuated, which makes the title a bit of a stretch: merely the interaction of the parties with the law firm of Tods Murray, housed at 66, is the nexus. Early chapters deal with notable residents of number 66 and exploits that took place therein. But by virtue of a major law firm inhabiting 66, many important and interesting events can be said to have been “viewed” from the house.

As a lawyer himself the author likely has great interest in and ability to ferret out stories of interest from centuries of court records and rulings.

Also of note is the introduction by Alexander McCall Smith, whose insights are always fascinating.

(Solid four stars. Could’ve benefited from some tighter editing for clarity and occasional repetition between chapters.)

[Rachael Owen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed some chapters, but overall it wasn’t very engaging for me. Probably just personal taste though.

[Monthly Book Group · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many of the group enjoyed the engaging stories and the colourful characters, heroes and villains and plenty in between, but there was a general agreement that the most attractive chapters were the earlier ones, with a feeling that there was rather too much about Tods Murray in what  followed. The book was written out of enthusiasm, and it was felt that it might have been better served by more rigorous editing...

This is an exact from a review of the book by the Monthly Book Group. Our reviews can be read at https://monthlybookgroup.wordpress.com or at https://monthlybookgroup.blogspot.com