Abbotsford Club Abbotsford Club The Abbotsford Club was a text publication society founded in Edinburgh in 1833 or 1834. This was the year after the death of Sir Walter Scott, whose residence of Abbotsford House gave the society its name, and whose literature the club's publications sought to illuminate. The club was modelled on the Roxburghe Club, of which Scott himself had been a member, as well as the Bannatyne Club, which was founded by Scott, and the Glasgow-centred Maitland Club. The founder and first secretary of the club was William Barclay Turnbull, a young Edinburgh lawyer. The stated objective of the
On the Banks of the River of Heaven as a "breezy collection" providing "provocative reflections on human nature," related "in a lyrical style that is sympathetic without being sentimental, straddling the boundary between the realistic and the romantic." The title story, described as "a delightful folktale meditation on the mysteries of love and friendship," is singled out for particular comment, as are "The Finer Points of Destruction" and "The Twa Corbies, Revisited." Reviewer Don D'Ammassa calls the author "one of the few who consistently writes excellent fantasy at shorter length rather than ponderous novels," with "a light touch that makes his prose sparkle." That said, he feels this