From Tartan to Tartanry

Ian Brown is Emeritus Professor in Drama at Kingston University and Honorary Senior Research Fellow in Scottish Literature at Glasgow University. He is the General Editor of The Edinburgh History of Scottish Literature (EUP: 2007) and widely published on aspects of theatre and literature. He is also a playwright and poet.

• Introduction: Tartan, tartanry and hybridity, Ian Brown; 1: 'Scarlet tartans would be got ...': the Re-invention of Tradition, Hugh Cheape; 2: Plaiding the Invention of Scotland, Murray Pittock; 3: From David Stewart to Andy Stewart: The Invention of the Scottish Soldier, Trevor Royle; 4: Paying for the plaid: Scottish Gaelic identity politics in nineteenth-century North America, Michael Newton; 5: Tartanry into tartan: heritage, tourism and material culture, Ian Maitland Hume; 6: Myth, political caricature and monstering the tartan, Ian Brown; 7: Tartanry and its Discontents: the Idea of Popular Scottishness, Alan Riach; 8: 'Wha's like us?': ethnic representation in music hall and popular theatre and the remaking of urban Scottish society, Paul Maloney; 9: Literary tartanry as translation, Susanne Hagemann; 10: Looking at tartan in film: history, identity and spectacle, Richard Butt; 11: Tartan comics and comic tartanry, Margaret Munro; 12: Rock, pop and tartanry, J. Mark Percival; 13: Class warriors or generous men in skirts?: the Tartan Army in the Scottish and foreign press, Hugh O'Donnell; 14: Don't take the High Road: tartanry and its critics, David Goldie.

An intriguing and international collection which is long overdue. From the Picts to Punk Rock, this is 'warm stuff of diverse colours' -- Emeritus Professor Ted Cowan of Glasgow University There can be few nations on earth who would question the benefit of being associated with a high fashion material of universal recognition and (usually) the highest quality. But instead of learning how to stop worrying and love the kilt, Scotland's relationship with tartan - and, therefore, with its own image, at home and abroad - has been bedevilled by collective national insecurity and excessive cultural introspection. This timely collection of intelligent and often entertaining essays by a fine group of thinkers seeks to exorcise the angst and make Scots more comfortable not just with the plaid, but also with ourselves. -- Michael Russell MSP An intriguing and international collection which is long overdue. From the Picts to Punk Rock, this is 'warm stuff of diverse colours' -- Ted Cowan, Professor Emeritus of Scottish History, University of Glasgow An intriguing and international collection which is long overdue. From the Picts to Punk Rock, this is 'warm stuff of diverse colours' There can be few nations on earth who would question the benefit of being associated with a high fashion material of universal recognition and (usually) the highest quality. But instead of learning how to stop worrying and love the kilt, Scotland's relationship with tartan - and, therefore, with its own image, at home and abroad - has been bedevilled by collective national insecurity and excessive cultural introspection. This timely collection of intelligent and often entertaining essays by a fine group of thinkers seeks to exorcise the angst and make Scots more comfortable not just with the plaid, but also with ourselves. An intriguing and international collection which is long overdue. From the Picts to Punk Rock, this is 'warm stuff of diverse colours'