The ''Noctes Ambrosianae'', a series of 71 imaginary colloquies, appeared in ''

Blackwood's Magazine ''Blackwood's Magazine'' was a British magazine and miscellany printed between 1817 and 1980. It was founded by the publisher William Blackwood and was originally called the ''Edinburgh Monthly Magazine''. The first number appeared in April 1817 ...

'' from 1822 to 1835. The earlier ones had several different authors, including

John Gibson Lockhart John Gibson Lockhart (12 June 1794 – 25 November 1854) was a Scottish writer and editor. He is best known as the author of the seminal, and much-admired, seven-volume biography of his father-in-law Sir Walter Scott: ''Memoirs of the Life of Sir ...

William Maginn William Maginn (10 July 1794 – 21 August 1842) was an Irish journalist and writer. About Born at Cork he became a contributor to ''Blackwood's Magazine'', and after moving to London in 1824 became for a few months in 1826 the Paris correspon ...

James Hogg James Hogg (1770 – 21 November 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 was a friend of many ...

and Professor John Wilson, but from 1825, with the 19th in the series, the contributions by Wilson predominate, and he eventually wrote all or most of 39 of the dialogues, as well as parts of some others. The scene is usually set in Ambrose's Tavern in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

, and the central characters are "Christopher North" (Wilson himself), "Timothy Tickler" (based on Robert Sym, 1750–1840, previously a

Writer to the Signet The Society of Writers to His Majesty's Signet is a private society of Scottish solicitors, dating back to 1594 and part of the College of Justice. Writers to the Signet originally had special privileges in relation to the drawing up of document ...

), and the "Ettrick Shepherd" (based on James Hogg). Several other characters, imaginary or based on real people, including the "English Opium Eater" (

Thomas De Quincey Thomas Penson De Quincey (; 15 August 17858 December 1859) was an English writer, essayist, and literary critic, best known for his '' Confessions of an English Opium-Eater'' (1821). Many scholars suggest that in publishing this work De Quinc ...

) and "The tailor o' Yarrow Ford" (David Brunton) occur in some episodes. The series is particularly noted for the expressive Scots dialogue of the Ettrick Shepherd.

References

*Wilson, John (1855) ''Noctes Ambrosianae'', edited by J F Ferrier. Edinburgh: William Blackwood & Sons. Edinburgh literature Works originally published in Blackwood's Magazine {{scotland-stub