A quiet Peebles childhood and education is disrupted by war and rapid economic change, resulting in 1813 in the move of the Chambers family to Edinburgh and a new life, initially in 'one of the second-rate streets in the southern suburbs'. In this second, 1872, edition of the history of the personal and business life of the publisher Robert Chambers, his brother William adds his own reflections on the story that followed. It is a lively, fascinating slice of social history - stretching from 'an almost ceaseless drudgery' to a 'luxurious and learned leisure'. At its core is the world of 19th century Scottish book - selling and publishing - book auctions, premises on Leith Walk, publishers' agents, trade-sales, remainders, book - stalls in the open air, printers, book-binders and publishers, book-hawkers, poets, essayists and editors, and patronage and finance. It was also an age of 'progressive steps towards a thoroughly cheap yet original and wholesome literature' for education and entertainment; the establishment of W. & R. Chambers; and the influence and legacy of Sir Walter Scott.