“No one can read the admirable and vivid sketch of his life which Dr. Blaikie has written without feeling admiration for the man, and gaining inspiration from his example.” Of JAMES BOSWELL, by W. KEITH LEASK, the _Spectator_ says:-- “This is one of the best volumes of the excellent ‘Famous Scots Series,’ and one of the fairest and most discriminating biographies of Boswell that have ever appeared.” The _Dundee Advertiser_ says:-- “It is the admirable manner in which the very complexity of the man is indicated that makes W. Keith Leask’s biography of him one of peculiar merit and interest.... It is not only a life of Boswell, but a picture of his time--vivid, faithful, impressive.” The _Morning Leader_ says:-- “Mr. W. K. Leask has approached the biographer of Johnson in the only possible way by which a really interesting book could have been arrived at--by way of the open mind.... The defence of Boswell in the concluding chapter of his delightful study is one of the finest and most convincing passages that have recently appeared in the field of British biography.” Of TOBIAS SMOLLETT, by OLIPHANT SMEATON, the _Dundee Courier_ says:-- “It is impossible to read the pages of this little work without being struck not only by its historical value, but by the fairness of its criticism.” The _Weekly Scotsman_ says:-- “The book is written in a crisp and lively style.... The picture of the great novelist is complete and lifelike. Not only does Mr. Smeaton give a scholarly sketch and estimate of Smollett’s literary career, he constantly keeps the reader in conscious touch and sympathy with his personality, and produces a portrait of the man as a man which is not likely to be readily forgotten.” The _Newsagent and Booksellers’ Review_ says:-- “Tobias Smollett was versatile enough to deserve a distinguished place in any gallery of gifted Scots, such as the one to which Mr. Smeaton has contributed this clever and lifelike portrait.” Of FLETCHER OF SALTOUN, by W. G. T. OMOND, the _Edinburgh Evening News_ says:-- “The writer has given us in brief compass the pith of what is known about an able and patriotic if somewhat dogmatic and impracticable Scotsman who lived in stormy times.... Mr. Omond describes, in a clear, terse, vigorous way, the constitution of the Old Scots Parliament, and the part taken by Fletcher as a public man in the stormy debates that took place prior to the union of the Parliaments in 1707. This part of the book gives an admirable summary of the state of Scottish politics and of the national feeling at an important period.” The _Leeds Mercury_ says:-- “Unmistakably the most interesting and complete story of the life of Fletcher of Saltoun that has yet appeared. Mr. Omond has had many facilities placed at his disposal, and of these he has made excellent use.” The _Speaker_ says:-- “Mr. Omond has told the story of Fletcher of Saltoun in this monograph with ability and judgment.”