Galt's two great political novels date from around the passing of the Reform Act of 1832. has claims to be the first political novel in the English language and is a of wit, observation, and a devastating critique of political self-seekings. Its hero is a Scot, newly returned from India, who purchases a seat in a rotten borough. As a study of the corruption of the pre-reform parliament it is unsurpassed. is a study of narrow-minded, humour-less fanaticism. Galt's aim is to demonstrate the fragility of the existing order and the closeness of anarchy to the surface of society. This is the first republication of since its original edition.