Author: DUNCAN (Henry):
Title: The Young South Country Weaver; Or, A Journey to Glasgow: A Tale for the Radicals. By the Rev. Henry Duncan, Ruthwell. Second Edition.
Description: Edinburgh: Printed [ in Dumfries by J. M'Diarmid & Co.]for Waugh & Innes, Edinbugh: and T. Hamilton, Ogle, Duncan & Co. and W. Baynes & Son, London. 1821 12mo, 151 x 92 mms., pp. [ii], iv [5 - 9] 10 - 192, including half-title, cheaply found in quarter russia, marbled boards; extremities worn. With the recent bookplate, in Latin, of David Buchanan Smith (1936 -2015), Scottish advocate, sheriff, bibliophile, and distinguished historian of curling. Born at Lochrutton, Kirkcudbrightshire, Henry Duncan (1774-1846), a Church of Scotland minister and savings bank founder, was "ordained minister of Ruthwell in Dumfriesshire, where he spent the rest of his life; from the first he involved himself in a range of social activities not strictly clerical" (Oxford DNB). For instance he "gave his support to several radical causes, including the abolition of slavery and Catholic emancipation" (ibid.). As the title suggests, the story is about a young weaver who travels to Glasgow and gets involved in the radical movement. Duncan's Young South Country Weaver was glowingly and at great length reviewed in the New Edinburgh Review in their issue of October 1821 (pp. 568-588). The anonymous reviewer praised the "excellent author" for writing a book "which will both delight and edify the reader of taste and judgment" (p. 569). In December 1822, The Edinburgh Christian Instructor warmly and lengthily reviewed the work, remarking that Duncan is "well known as one of the very best writers of a Scottish tale" (p. 826).

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