"Confessions of a Justified Sinner" is the constant favourite of all my books. Possibly the masterpiece of Scottish literature, it has influenced Scottish writing ever since it was published in 1808 (and was condemned soundly by all who read it as 'immoral' and even just plain 'rubbish'). It is on this book that Hogg's fame lies, though he did write many other works as well, albeit lesser works.
Hogg was born to poor parents in the Scottish borders in 1770 and, if his own accounts are to be believed, taught himself to read and write while tending sheep, hence his common nom de plume of 'The Ettrick Shepherd'. One of his first publications was a technical treatise on sheep called, unsurprisingly, "Hogg on Sheep". His elevation to the ranks of Enlightenment Edinburgh's literary society began when he met Walter Scott, who was collecting Scottish folk ballads for his "Minstrelsy" collection: Hogg was recommended to him on account of his mother's knowledge of the ancient ballads and from here started an often stormy friendship, with Scott promoting and supporting Hogg, despite Hogg's often ungrateful treatment of Scott.
Hogg was a great character, much loved in Edinburgh, mostly for his earthy good spirits and humour and much of this comes across in his writing, in which he makes great use of the Scots language to convey complex ideas as much as character.
"Confessions" (properly "The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner") is remarkable for many reasons, not least on account of it's structure which relies on the reader interpreting two unreliable narratives - predating postmodernism by about 180 years! - the first of which is rumbustuous and sceptical, the second of which is dark and sinister to the point that the last few pages will have the hairs on your neck rising up. It is often seen as an attack on Calvinism, but I believe that this is too simplistic a view: I am not going to discuss this further here... read the book and see. One final point on "Confessions": it contains my favourite character in all literature: Gil-Martin.
Other works by Hogg include:
The Three Perils of Man - An epic tale of border warfare.
The Brownie of Bodsbeck - A supernatural novella set around the time
of the Covenanters and a reply to Scott's "Ringan Gilhaizie", putting the
alternative point of view.
The Three Perils of Woman - Another remarkable book: a parody of Jane
Austen!
Plus numerous short stories and poems and a magazine called 'The Spy', of
which there are known to be only two complete sets, one in the National Library
of Scotland.