“She is as worthy as Scott, Conan Doyle and Stevenson of a place in the pantheon of Scottish letters.”
Long celebrated in her lifetime with a readership that rivalled even her English contemporaries, the brilliant 19th-century novelist Susan Ferrier captured the social comedy, manners, and eccentricities of Scottish life with razor-sharp wit and immense grace. In our latest feature, we explore the enduring legacy of this remarkable literary pioneer — whose father, James Ferrier, was a Writer to the Signet — and look at why her vivid, satirical portraits of society and reflections on women’s education continue to resonate just as powerfully today.