Translated by Brian Battershaw, introduced by Charlotte Jolles, with a map and illustrations

As a young writer, Fontane had immersed himself in Shakespeare and Walter Scott – and in the old Scottish ballads, which he translated into German. His Scottish journey was something of a pilgrimage and the itinerary included the historic sites from Edinburgh to Inverness, as well as Linlithgow, Loch Leven Castle, Stirling and Culloden, returning via the West Coast, taking in Oban, Staffa, Iona and Loch Lomond. As a guide Fontane has the ability to paint a land- or townscape with few words and to buttonhole the reader with a local story, or historical embellishment. With his travelling companion Bernhard von Lepel, he is convivial company, full of energy and as eager to describe his good-humoured contacts with people as to give impressions of buildings or scenery. There is nothing in the least devout about Fontane as a pilgrim. He is sensitive to the stirrings of Scottish nationalism and critically aware of the beginnings of the tourist industry. He is also a critic of the romantic folklore version of Scottish history because it leaves out Scotland’s important scientific and intellectual achievements, and he does not attempt to conceal his disappointment with the artificiality he felt at Walter Scott’s Abbotsford. However, it is Fontane’s deep passion for Scotland which permeates this book and provides the context for his criticism. In her introduction, Charlotte Jolles, doyenne of Fontane studies, explains his involvement with and love of Scotland and shows what deep traces it left in his own work. Beyond the Tweed is the fruit of an intense commitment to Scotland, its history and its culture, in which the country is fondly but shrewdly observed, with warmth and humanity.

Published by Libris in 1998