From one of the earliest mentions of its name in the sixth century to the Covid lockdowns of the twenty-first, this is a
magnificent portrait of one of the world’s great cities in its many iterations, from ‘Edinburgh, the sink of abomination’ to the
Athens of the North and everything – including the home of the Enlightenment, the Festival City, the Aids Capital of
Europe and a Mecca for tourists seeking tartan tat – in between.
As the nation’s capital it has been critical to its progress and a witness to epochal events, such the tumultuous reign of
Mary, Queen of Scots, the Reformation, the Forty-Five rebellion, the Disruption of the Church of Scotland and the
reconvening of the Scottish Parliament. All of these and more feature. But this is not simply a book about the great and
good, the famous and infamous. There is testimony aplenty from ordinary folk who may not have made their mark on
history but who have contributed to Edinburgh’s ever-expanding tapestry. |