I began working with Prof. Julian Goodare (University of Edinburgh) during my MSc in 2011, and was struck by his kindness and generosity with his time and expertise. He subsequently supervised my PhD, and we co-edited a volume, The Supernatural in Early Modern Scotland (Manchester University Press, 2020). He still reads and suggests revisions to my articles, gives me career advice and shares incredibly wide-ranging scholarly insights. I have benefited enormously from Julian’s mentorship, and following his retirement in 2021 I was delighted to work with Alasdair Raffe (University of Edinburgh) on a festschrift, celebrating and responding to some of Julian’s scholarly contributions.
Published by Edinburgh University Press in 2025, The Scottish State and the Experience of Government, c. 1560-1707: Essays in Honour of Julian Goodare examines the development of Scotland’s institutions of government in the early modern period, and considers how local and central authorities affected the lives of the Scottish people. The first part of the book includes essays on prominent political figures or parties, ways of envisaging the Scottish state, and the place of the Highlands. Chapters in part 2 look at themes including debtors in early modern courts, state control over malefactors, and the witch-hunts. An electronic version of the book is freely available.
We were happy to launch the book – and thoroughly embarrass Julian – at an event at the University of Edinburgh in September 2025.
