Tales of the Wars of Montrose originated in 1826 when Hogg attempted to interest William Blackwood in a collection of tales to be entitled 'Lives of Eminent Men', the core of which consisted of three items with the titles (shortened) 'An Edinburgh Baillie', 'Colonel Peter Ashton' (completed on 7 January the previous year), and 'Sir Simon Brodie'.
[1] During the next six years he contemplated publishing the stories individually, but he did not give up on the idea of a collection, and when in 1833 he finally broke with Blackwood, on 17 June he sent the London partnership of James Cochrane and John M'Crone 'Genuine Tales of the days of Montrose'[2] This was intended to be a single-volume publication with the three original core stories: it seems Hogg prepared fresh manuscripts, which suggests that substantial revision was involved.
[3] However, Cochrane (who had now parted company with M'Crone) increased his demands to three volumes, and on 13 December Hogg reluctantly sent him a sixth tale, 'Mary Montgomery', originally intended for Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine and now superficially revised to adjust the setting from the reign of James VII to that of Charles I.
Written by himself' 'The Adventures of Colonel Peter Aston' 'Julia M,Kenzie' (first published as 'A Horrible Instance of the Effects of Clanship' in Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, 28 (October 1830), 680‒87, and substantially revised here)[5] 'A few remarkable Adventures of Sir Simon Brodie' 'Wat Pringle o' the Yair' 'Mary Montgomery' The reviewers received Tales of the Wars of Montrose with appreciation and disapproval in roughly equal measure.
Hogg was praised for his story-telling power, but he was also found lacking in imagination in historical fiction, especially when it was compared with his poetry, and he was judged inferior to Walter Scott.