James Hogg (1770-1835) was a Scottish poet, novelist and essayist who wrote in both Scots and English. As a young man he worked as a shepherd and farmhand and was largely self-educated through reading. He became a friend of many of the great writers of his day, including Sir Walter Scott of whom he later wrote an unauthorised biography. He was widely known as Ettrick Shepherd, a nickname under wihich some of his works were published, and the character name he was given in the widely read series Noctes Abrosianae published in Blackwood's Magazine. This work was first published anonymously in 1824, the first edition selling very poorly, and it continued to suffer critical neglect throughout the 19th century. However, during the 20th century it won greater critical attention and was praised by Andre Gide in his introduction to the 1947 reissue. The book has been considered by turns part gothic novel, part psychological mystery, part satire and part case study of totalitarian thought, and has also been thought of as an early example of modern crime fiction in which the story is told for the most part from the point of view of its criminal anti-hero.