Highland Shepherd: James MacGregor, Father of the Scottish Enlightenment in Nova Scotia

‘Dr. Wilson is to be congratulated on a readable, informative, and fascinating treatment of a great and neglected Canadian original, giving James MacGregor his rightful place in the galaxy of Canadian pioneers.’

Donald MacLeod, Haddington House Journal vol 19:2017

‘Wilson has done a fine job of demonstrating MacGregor’s importance as a pioneer and organizer of Presbyterianism in Nova Scotia… The book excels at sketching the hard life of a frontier preacher.’

Andrew R. Holmes, Canadian Historical Review vol 98:03:2017

In Wilson’s hands, MacGregor, long heroized as Pictou’s Presbyterian patriarch, proves to be a compelling and charismatic figure, bold and brilliant, who involved himself in all facets of community life and mellowed under the influences of family and frontier. The fact that Wilson is able to navigate the dense forest of Maritime Canada’s early Presbyterian history without losing his readers in the underbrush of detail is a testament to his skill as a writer and storyteller. Laurie Stanley-Blackwell, Department of History, Saint Francis Xavier University

Highland Shepherd is a fine portrait of the struggles and triumphs of an important minister in colonial Nova Scotia. It is an evocative and sensitive re-creation of MacGregor’s character and circumstance and an important contribution to the literature on the influence of Scottish thought, institutions, and culture within early Canadian society. David Marshall, Department of History, University of Calgary