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Tales of the West
The Entail: or, The Lairds of Grippy
First published in 1822, The Entail is Galt's most ambitious novel. It is a horrifying study of obsession in which a Glasgow merchant victimizes his family members one by one.
"No doubt, Laird", replied Claud, "but it's a comfort to hae a frugal woman for a helpmate; but ye ken now-a-days it's no the fashion for bare legs to come thegither. The wife maun hae something to put in the pot as well as the man. And, although Miss Girzy may na be a'thegither objectionable, yet it would still be a pleasant thing baith to hersel and the man that gets her, an ye would just gie a bit inkling o what she'll hae."
"No doubt, Laird", replied Claud, "but it's a comfort to hae a frugal woman for a helpmate; but ye ken now-a-days it's no the fashion for bare legs to come thegither. The wife maun hae something to put in the pot as well as the man. And, although Miss Girzy may na be a'thegither objectionable, yet it would still be a pleasant thing baith to hersel and the man that gets her, an ye would just gie a bit inkling o what she'll hae."
368 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1822
About the author
John Galt
431 books13 followersJohn Galt was a Scottish novelist, entrepreneur, and political and social commentator. He was the first novelist to deal with issues of the Industrial Revolution and he has been called the first political novelist in the English language.
In 1820 Galt began to write for Blackwoods Magazine which published Annals of the Parish and The Ayrshire Legatees in 1821, The Provost and Sir Andrew Wylie in 1822, and The Entail in 1823. His novel Ringan Gilhaize (1823) offers a very different perspective on Scotland's Covenanting period to Walter Scott's The Tale of Old Mortality (1816).
Galt was instrumental in establishing the Canada Company, which was granted a charter in 1826 and bought almost 2.5 million acres of land from the British Government with a view to selling it on in individual plots to settlers. He founded the cities of Guelph and Goderich in Ontario. His novels Lawrie Tod (1830) and Bogle Corbet (1831) are concerned with the settlement of North America.
In 1820 Galt began to write for Blackwoods Magazine which published Annals of the Parish and The Ayrshire Legatees in 1821, The Provost and Sir Andrew Wylie in 1822, and The Entail in 1823. His novel Ringan Gilhaize (1823) offers a very different perspective on Scotland's Covenanting period to Walter Scott's The Tale of Old Mortality (1816).
Galt was instrumental in establishing the Canada Company, which was granted a charter in 1826 and bought almost 2.5 million acres of land from the British Government with a view to selling it on in individual plots to settlers. He founded the cities of Guelph and Goderich in Ontario. His novels Lawrie Tod (1830) and Bogle Corbet (1831) are concerned with the settlement of North America.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 9, 2015
Galt’s 1822 novel, the fictional history of the Walkinshaw family, is a marvelous read. To some extent, his account of the transmission of vice from one generation to another is a morality tale. Three generations of Walkinshaw lords suffer dire consequences from valuing family property over family relationships. However, this work is never preachy and almost always hilarious with the brand of humor we see in Trollope, and in Dickens. The resemblance is especially strong when Galt is taking aim at the legal profession. The plot line is strong with some interesting twists along the way and principal characters—both male and female--are multi-faceted (pretty impressive for 1822). But, Reader, beware: The dialect is very difficult; yet, it is worth the effort. I’m abashed to say that had I known a glossary was present in the back of the book, I would have had an easier time.
September 29, 2017
The language is very interesting, with the unfamiliar west-Scots dialect in full view. (Thank goodness for the notes in the World's Classics edition.) As a novel, it's rather defective, with the only really sympathetic characters on-stage only late or not much, and the unsympathetic main character off-stage for much of the book. Ane the third "book", of three, gets kind of melodramatic, and is padded out a bit with extraneous narrative. Still, I enjoyed it, and I'm glad I read it.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews