In a letter dated 11 September 1825 written from Eskgrove, John Galt wrote to publisher William Blackwood concerning his latest work The Last of the Lairds. Mentioning that he would be in Edinburgh that week –
“I think you may announce The Last of the Lairds or the life and opinions of Malachi Mailings Esq of Auldbiggings. I would not announce it as by the author of The Annals, at least in the first instance …”.
However in October 1825 the following advertisement appeared. Obviously Blackwood did not think that Galt was correct!
Galt returned to London and continued writing and amending the novel over the next few months. However in early 1826, his business with the Canada Company meant that he had to leave for North America. He gave the draft to his good friend David Macbeth Moir to finish for him. Galt had lived for a while at Eskgrove House near Musselburgh which is probably where he met Moir, a doctor and fellow writer. The Last of the Lairds with Moir's additions was published in November 1826.
In Life and Miscellanies Galt writes of the Last of the
Lairds –
“I meant it to belong to that series of fictions of manners,
of which the Annals of the Parish is the beginning; but owing to some cause,
which I no longer remember, instead of an autobiography I was induced to make
it a narrative, and in this respect it lost that appearance of truth and nature
which is, in my opinion, the great charm of such works. I have no recollection how this happened, nor
what caused me to write it as it is, but the experiment was a very unwise one,
and some day I will try to supply what is wanted, namely, the autobiography of
one of the last race of lairds.”
In many ways the Last of the Lairds is similar to the Annals of the Parish, showing the changes in a small Scottish community over the years. The central character, the laird Malachi Mailings lives alone in his old house -
"The mansion house of Auldbiggings was a multiform aggregate of corners, and gables, and chimneys … no two windows were alike, and several of them, from the first enactment of the duty on light, had been closed up, save where here and there a peering hole with a single pane equivocated with the statute and the tax-gatherer."
As with many Galt’s other works, the reader is introduced to a wonderful range of characters from the grumpy old Laird himself, to his servants and neighbours. If you haven’t already read this book, then please do. It is available to read free online.
Dr David Macbeth Moir
Dr David Macbeth Moir was born at Musselburgh in January 1798 and graduated from the University of Edinburgh. He practiced as a doctor in Musselburgh while writing contributions to Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine where he was known by the name Delta.
He wrote and published a selection of verse and other works including the novel Life of Mansie Wauch, Tailor. He was travelling in Dumfries when he became unwell and died in 1851. Each year in January, the Old Musselburgh Club lay a wreath at a statue erected in Moir’s memory in the town in 1853. The statue was made by sculptor Alexander Handyside Ritchie (who was also born in Musselburgh). It was paid for by public subscription. The inscription on the pedestal of the statue reads - "In memory of David Macbeth Moir. Beloved as a Man, Honoured as a Citizen, Esteemed at a Physician and Celebrated as a Poet. Born 5th January 1798. Died 6th July 1851."
