Wild and Majestic: Romantic Visions of Scotland

by Patrick Watt, Rosie Waine

The souvenir book of the exhibition Wild and Majestic: Romantic Visions of Scotland: National Museum of Scotland, 26 June to 10 November.

In the era of the European Romantic movement of the 18th and 19th centuries, Scotland became the subject of international fascination. Using material evidence, the exhibition – and the book – traces Scotland’s journey into the global imagination, and show how, by the end of Queen Victoria’s reign, a particular version of the cultural traditions of the highlands and islands had become fixed as a badge of wider Scottish identity.

The romantic visions of Scotland that took shape during this period have always been questioned. The stories of objects, costume, art, literature and music highlighted in both the exhibition and the book can tell us a great deal about the relationship between Scotland, romance and reality.

96 pages, Paperback

First published June 26, 2019

About the author

Patrick Watt is a self-employed historian of the culture of conflict. His doctoral thesis examined organisational culture and institutional learning processes in the British Expeditionary Force on the western front in 1915. He has published in academic journals on topics such as the legacy of the Great War in Scotland; the culture of Scottish militia regiments in diasporic communities; and the role of material culture in the development of Scotland's martial identity.

Reviews

[Graeme]

This is a good introduction to the romanticisation of the Highlands of Scotland.

[Frederic]

Published to accompany a 2019 exhibit at the National Museum of Scotland, presents the history of romanticist ideas of Scotland (particularly around the Highlands). There are some great objects, and the text is brief but sketches the history clearly.