The House with the Green Shutters is a novel by the Scottish writer George Douglas Brown, first published in 1901 by John MacQueen. Set in mid-19th century Ayrshire, in the fictitious town of Barbie which is based on his native Ochiltree, it consciously violates the conventions of the sentimental kailyard school, and is sometimes quoted as an influence on the Scottish Renaissance. At the university, John found little stimulation for his sluggish mind. He had one high spot in his career, indeed in his whole life, when he won a prize for an essay. Since that was the first honor he ever won, he swaggered and boasted about it for months. Because of the prize, he also won his first and only word of praise from his father. In his second term, John fell to his own level and became a drunken sot. Books were too much for him, and people scorned him. The bottle was his only friend. The novel gives a strongly outlined picture of the harder and less genial aspects of Scottish life and character, and was regarded as a useful corrective to the more roseate presentations of the kailyard school of J. M. Barrie and Ian Maclaren. Reprinted frequently throughout the twentieth century, it was most recently re-issued by Birlinn of Edinburgh. An annual event in Brown's memory, The Green Shutters Festival of Working Class Writing, is held in Ochiltree, the town believed to be the model for the village of Barbie. The novel describes the struggles of a proud and taciturn carrier, John Gourlay, against the spiteful comments and petty machinations of the envious and idle villagers of Barbie (the "bodies"). (Introduction by Wikipedia) Eh, the puir la-amb," she protested, dwelling on the vowels in fatuous, maternal love; "the bairn's wearied, man! He's ainything but strong, and the schooling's owre sore on him."

Ah, well!" she cried, in weary petulance, "it's an unco thing if a body's not to have a moment's rest after such a morning's darg! I just sat down wi' the book for a little, till John should come till his breakfast!" Old Gourlay is the perfect brute and tirannical house-father in the small village of Barbie. He bullies his weak but highly perceptive son John, his sloppy wife and his consumptive daughter Janet. In the village too, he is feared - a lot of 'glowering' is done on his part. Inevitably, his downfall awaits him, first when he meets a rival carrier Wilson, next when his ailing son fails to live up to his high expectations. John, succumbing to drink, kills his father. The murder is covered up by his mother and sister, but the glowering eyes haunt John in the night. Finally, the remainder of the household commits suicide. Gourlay's character reminds me of Michael Henchard in The Mayor of Casterbridge, which was written 15 years earlier (1886). The sombre trajectory that takes both men from overweening pride to final despair, degradation and death is remarkably similar, down to the collateral damage to their wives and families. George Douglas Brown’s reputation rests on this single novel, THE HOUSE WITH THE GREEN SHUTTERS. Born at Ochiltree in Scotland to a poor family, he managed to attend Glasgow University and Oxford. In 1895, he went to London as a freelance writer. Not until 1901 with THE HOUSE WITH THE GREEN SHUTTERS did he win recognition. The novel was praised by Andrew Lang and was well received in England and the United States. His royalties in the summer of 1902 brought him the only financial ease he ever knew, but in August of the year, he suddenly died.

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For, like most scorners of the world's opinion, Gourlay was its slave, and showed his subjection to the popular estimate by his anxiety to flout it. He was not great enough for the carelessness of perfect scorn. The novel describes the struggles of a proud and taciturn carrier, John Gourlay, against the spiteful comments and petty machinations of the envious and idle villagers of Barbie (the "bodies"). [1] The sudden return after fifteen years' absence of the ambitious merchant, James Wilson, son of a mole-catcher, leads to commercial competition against which Gourlay has trouble responding.

The whole village bowed to Gourlay, even while they prayed that he would one day meet his match. They were not to be disappointed. James Wilson returned to the village with money he had earned during his fifteen years’ absence. One of the first to meet Wilson was Gourlay. When Wilson had left years before, Gourlay had been then, as now, the big man in the town. Had Gourlay said a kind word or given one bit of praise for the success of his former acquaintance, Wilson would have been flattered and would have become his friend; but Gourlay was not such a man. He immediately ridiculed Wilson and laughed at the idea that he could be a success at anything. Wilson developed a hatred that was to bring the insolent Gourlay to ruin.It was an inspiration to Lewis Grassic Gibbon, Hugh MacDiarmid, and many other writers of the next generation. Jorge Luis Borges said in an interview that it was the first English-language novel he ever read, and that after reading it he "wanted to be Scotch." [2] Its wisdom and scepticism retain interest for modern readers. date: 27 November 2023 House with the Green Shutters, The, Source: The Oxford Companion to Edwardian Fiction Author(s): Sandra KempSandra Kemp, Charlotte MitchellCharlotte Mitchell, David TrotterDavid Trotter

The Scot, as pundits will tell you, is an individualist. His religion alone is enough to make him so. For it is a scheme of personal salvation significantly described once by the Reverend Mr Struthers of Barbie. ‘At the Day of Judgement, my friends,’ said Mr Struthers; at the Day of Judgement every herring must hang by his own tail!’ Self-dependence was never more luridly expressed. History, climate, social conditions, and the national beverage have all combined (the pundits go on) to make the Scot an individualist, fighting for his own hand. The better for him if it be so; from that he gets the grit that tells. Chapter XXV. Gourlay confronts his son and there is a ferocious brawl. John takes momentary refuge at the Red Lion, but gets into a fight with Brodie. On his return, they grapple again, and John hits his father with the huge poker, killing him instantly. The author places a heavy emphasis upon “character.” If a person is weak, he is doomed. As hubris might cause the fate of a Greek tragic hero, so stupidity or moral weakness causes the fate of these Scottish villagers. John Gourlay is proud, ambitious, and eager to make a big showing; his house is a symbol for him of his place and dignity. Nevertheless, he is a stupid man and is easily provoked. Understanding nothing, he is able to sneer at everything. His son cannot build upon his first success at college. Young Gourlay is morally weak and lazy and must inevitably come into conflict with his father.George Douglas Brown (26 January 1869 – 28 August 1902) was a Scottish novelist, best known for his highly influential realist novel The House with the Green Shutters (1901), which was published the year before his death at the age of 33. Looking hard for the positives, the language, a mix of standard English with a liberal dose of Scots mixed in, is very well done. As an antiquated Scot I didn’t have much difficulty with it, but it might be a tougher read for people without a familiarity with the older Scots dialects. There are some wonderful descriptive passages of the town and country, and the characters are very well drawn and unfortunately quite believable, though there is a sneering quality to the writing of them that left me feeling that Brown probably had an over-healthy sense of his own superiority. The humour is mainly aimed at the mean-mindedness of the characters, and is therefore both amusing and off-putting at the same time. The darker aspects have a great sense of inevitability about them – a fatalism brought about by the heavily patriarchal culture, where the man may rule with as heavy a hand as he chooses. Alcohol is shown as the deeply destructive force it indeed has long been in Scottish culture, and still is, though I think to a somewhat lesser degree these days. There is a megalomaniac in every parish of Scotland. Well, not so much as that; they’re owre canny for that to be said of them. Chapter XXIII. John is expelled from the university. What with the serious illnesses of Janet and Mrs Gourlay, the family is on the brink of financial ruin. Overall, The House with the Green Shutters was fascinating. I found it interesting in the sense that at the intro, I accepted that I wasn't going to like the main character--and, I assumed, the protagonist. Gourlay Sr., however, is not what I would call a protagonist.