6 MAY 1938, Page 34

SCOTTISH HERITAGE By Rex Welldon Finn

• In spite of its title and its twopence- coloured dust-jacket, this book (Heine- mann, 8s. 6d.) is in quite a different class from the usual scenery-cum-romance books about Scotland. It is the result of an intelligent outsider's reading of Scottish history-and his wish to give the tourist a better background for his exploration of Scotland and the Scottish

character than usual guidebook gush. Beginning with the Influence of Nature and the Prehistoric Influence, Mr. Finn takes us chronologically through Scottish history; but he keeps on breaking off to show the repercussions today of some event in the-past. He has read widely and critically, and he has managed to get that feel of 2 sitution which no study of official histories and documents can give. He understands, for instance, the social stigma attaching to Presby- tianism ; "no fit religion for a gentle- man" said Charles II, and the bulk of the gentry Still agree with him. - The book has an unsatisfactory index, very full bibliographies, and photographs which drive home the points in the text.