Walter Scott

In "Ivanhoe", a historical novel by Sir Walter Scott, Sir Wilfred of Ivanhoe is a Saxon crusader, returning home to England from the unsuccessful Third Crusade. A supporter of the Norman king Richard the Lionheart, he is disowned by his father. Featuring colorful descriptions of tournaments, outlaws, witch trials and tensions between Jews and Christians, it is also notable for its vivid and lasting depictions of historical figures such as Robin Hood,...

The Lady of the Lake is a narrative poem by Sir Walter Scott, first published in 1810. Set in the Trossachs region of Scotland, it is composed of six cantos, each of which concerns the action of a single day. The poem has three main plots: the contest among three men, Roderick Dhu, James Fitz-James, and Malcolm Graeme, to win the love of Ellen Douglas; the feud and reconciliation of King James V of Scotland and James Douglas; and a war between the...

Sir Walter Scott's "The Monastery: a Romance" is a historical novel first published in 1820. Set during the reign of Mary, Queen of Scots, it is one of Scott's "Tales from Benedictine Sources" and follows the lives of the Glendinning boys. Highly recommended for those who have read and enjoyed other books in the famous Waverley Novels series. Contents include: "Introduction-(1830.)", "Introductory Epistle", "Answer by 'The Author of Waverley", "The...

Edgar, the brooding young master of Ravenswood, retains none of his ancestral estates but a crumbling castle. Embittered by the lawsuits that have stripped him of his patrimony and shortened his despairing father's life, he determines to confront Sir William Ashton, the lawyer whose machinations led to the decline of Ravenswood's fortunes. But Edgar's plans take an abrupt turn upon meeting Sir William's lovely daughter, Lucy, and a romance blossoms...

The story is set just after the Union of Scotland and England, in the Liddesdale hills of the Scottish Borders, familiar to Scott from his work collecting ballads for The Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border. The main character is based on David Ritchie, whom Scott met in the autumn of 1797. In the tale, the dwarf is Sir Edward Mauley, a hermit regarded by the locals as being in league with the Devil, who becomes embroiled in a complex tale of love,...

Guy Mannering is set in the 1760s to 1780s, mostly in the Galloway area of southwest Scotland, but with episodes in Cumberland, Holland, and India. It tells the story of Harry Bertram, the son of the Laird of Ellangowan, who is kidnapped at the age of five by smugglers after witnessing the murder of a customs officer. It follows the fortunes and adventures of Harry and his family in subsequent years, and the struggle over the inheritance of Ellangowan....

This book contains Sir Walter Scott's 1823 historical novel, "Peveril of the Peak". Julian Peveril is a Cavalier accused of being involved with the "Popish Plot". He is also desperately in love with Alice Bridgenorth, the daughter of a Roundhead. Set in Derbyshire, it is a masterful piece of English civil war fiction and part of Scott's famous Waverley Novels series. "Peveril of the Peak" is the longest novel written by Scott and constitutes a must-read...

First published in 1818, "The Heart of Midlothian" concerns the Porteous Riots in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1736. After the Captain of the City Guards orders his men to fire into a crowd of people, a lynch mob hunts him down and kills him for his actions. It is famous for its graphic and gruesome descriptions of Captain John Porteous's death and is often referred to as Scott's finest novel. Contents include: "The Heart of Mid-Lothian", "Editor's Introduction...

Quentin Durward is a historical novel by Walter Scott, first published in 1823. The story concerns a Scottish archer in the service of the French King Louis XI. The plot centers on the rivalry between Louis XI of France and Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy.

The Heart of Midlothian is often regarded as Scott's finest novel featuring Jeanie Deans, the first woman among Scott's protagonists, and also the first to come from the lower classes. While the heroine is idealised for her religious devotion and her moral rectitude, Scott nevertheless ridicules the moral certitude represented by the branch of Presbyterianism known as Cameronians, represented in the novel by Jeanie's father David.