I found this very pleasant to read, but not memorable afterward. It was written for serialization, not just because the author happened to have such a contract but because he thought serialization would be an interesting experiment. The result is sort of gossipy and unordered, which realism is one of his strengths.
I was fascinated by one material detail, that a posh Edinburgh house had a 'drying room' in which everyone's undies were put on racks to dry. Now, I know the UK has clothes-dryers. Is it swank because old-fashioned to have a dedicated room? Swank because expensive? Swank because you can maintain more delicate clothes? Not swank, just one of those things old houses have? Not swank, just the way houses there are built?
From the vivid wooly descriptions of an acquaintance who studied in Edinburgh, I'd hedge all these rationalist material explanations with the possibility that it's a damp clammy way to live and that appeals to Edinburgh ascetics. But I know nothing about it.
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