Book excerpt: A dazzling portrait of the life and times of James Hogg. Electric Shepherd is a likeness of James Hogg, Scottish Borderer and international literary star, who shared an epoch and an environment with Walter Scott. His novel, the Confessions of a Justified Sinner, is one of the great works of European Romanticism. 'Miller's writing seems to breathe the air of the period so steadily and so deeply that the reader might occasionally experience a part of himself venturing forth to mingle with the multitude of personalities on display.' Andrew O'Hagan, Telegraph