Sir Walter Scott

3,334 books • 106 series

Sir Walter Scott was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1771. As a child he was entranced by the tales of the Scottish Borders, and soon he was reading broadly in the fields of history and legend; these interests were to mould the later man. After an extensive flirtation with German Romanticism -- he published two translations -- he returned to his initial love, the Borders and their ballads, publishing the important three-volume collection Minstrelsy of the Scottish Borders in 1802-3. The success of this collection, whose texts he had extensively rewritten, led him to publish the extremely popular book-length narrative poem The Lay of the Last Minstrel in 1805. Others followed the widespread popularity of this one, notably The Lady of the Lake (1810).

He had become a partner in the printing firm Ballantyne, and in 1813 had to rescue it from bankruptcy, in the process incurring enormous personal debts. To help pay these off, he picked up and finished the text of a novel about the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion that he'd started and abandoned in 1805. When published in 1814, Waverley was a huge success. Writing with phenomenal industry, he followed Waverley with a long string of historical and quasi-historical novels of which Guy Mannering (1815), Old Mortality (1816), Rob Roy (1818), The Heart of Midlothian (1818), The Bride of Lammermoor (1819), Ivanhoe (1819), Kenilworth (1821), The Fortunes of Nigel (1822), Quentin Durward (1823) and Redgauntlet (1824) are among the most noteworthy. These were published anonymously; his authorship of them was not revealed until 1827.

Created a baronet in 1820, Scott died in 1832. He is widely regarded as the father of the historical novel.

Mar 17, 2011
Cover of The Works of John Dryden ... Illustrated with Notes, Historical, Critical, and Explanatory, and a Life of the Author, by Walter Scott. Second Edition, Vol. IV

The Works of John Dryden ... Illustrated with Notes, Historical, Critical, and Explanatory, and a Life of the Author, by Walter Scott. Second Edition, Vol. IV

Mar 17, 2011
Cover of The Works of John Dryden ... Illustrated with Notes, Historical, Critical, and Explanatory, and a Life of the Author, by Walter Scott. Vol. II. Second Edition

The Works of John Dryden ... Illustrated with Notes, Historical, Critical, and Explanatory, and a Life of the Author, by Walter Scott. Vol. II. Second Edition

Mar 17, 2011
Cover of The Works of John Dryden. Illustrated with Notes, Historical, Critical, and Explanatory, and a Life of the Author, by Walter Scott, Second Edition, Vol. XVI

The Works of John Dryden. Illustrated with Notes, Historical, Critical, and Explanatory, and a Life of the Author, by Walter Scott, Second Edition, Vol. XVI

Mar 17, 2011
Cover of The Works of John Dryden ... Illustrated with Notes, Historical, Critical, and Explanatory, and a Life of the Author, by Walter Scott. Vol. VIII, Second Edition

The Works of John Dryden ... Illustrated with Notes, Historical, Critical, and Explanatory, and a Life of the Author, by Walter Scott. Vol. VIII, Second Edition

Mar 17, 2011
Cover of Ivanhoe ... with 16 Illustrations by C. E. Brock.

Ivanhoe ... with 16 Illustrations by C. E. Brock.

Mar 17, 2011
Cover of The Lady of the Lake, by Sir Walter Scott; With All His Introductions, Various Readings, and the Editor's Notes. Illustrated by Numerous Engravings on

The Lady of the Lake, by Sir Walter Scott; With All His Introductions, Various Readings, and the Editor's Notes. Illustrated by Numerous Engravings on

Mar 17, 2011
Cover of The Novels of Sir Walter Scott, Bart. with All His Introductions and Notes. Vol.VIII.

The Novels of Sir Walter Scott, Bart. with All His Introductions and Notes. Vol.VIII.

Mar 17, 2011
Cover of Royal Characters from the Works of Sir Walter Scott, Historical and Romantic. Selected and Arranged by W. T. Dobson. with Twelve ... Illustrations, in Permanent Photography.

Royal Characters from the Works of Sir Walter Scott, Historical and Romantic. Selected and Arranged by W. T. Dobson. with Twelve ... Illustrations, in Permanent Photography.

Mar 17, 2011
Cover of The Pirate ... with Sixteen Illustrations by E. J. Sullivan.

The Pirate ... with Sixteen Illustrations by E. J. Sullivan.

Mar 17, 2011
Cover of Old Mortality ... with Sixteen Illustrations by Sidney Paget.

Old Mortality ... with Sixteen Illustrations by Sidney Paget.

Mar 17, 2011
Cover of Marmion ... the Third Edition.

Marmion ... the Third Edition.

Mar 17, 2011
Cover of The Bride of Lammermoor ... with Sixteen Illustrations by Fred. Pegram.

The Bride of Lammermoor ... with Sixteen Illustrations by Fred. Pegram.

Mar 14, 2011
Cover of The Works of John Dryden ... Illustrated with Notes, Historical, Critical, and Explanatory, and a Life of the Author, by Walter Scott. Vol. VII, Second Edition

The Works of John Dryden ... Illustrated with Notes, Historical, Critical, and Explanatory, and a Life of the Author, by Walter Scott. Vol. VII, Second Edition

Mar 14, 2011
Cover of The Works of John Dryden ... Illustrated with Notes, Historical, Critical, and Explanatory, and a Life of the Author, by Walter Scott. Second Edition. Vol. XV.

The Works of John Dryden ... Illustrated with Notes, Historical, Critical, and Explanatory, and a Life of the Author, by Walter Scott. Second Edition. Vol. XV.

Mar 14, 2011
Cover of The Works of John Dryden ... Illustrated with Notes, Historical, Critical, and Explanatory, and a Life of the Author, by Walter Scott. Vol. X, Second Edition

The Works of John Dryden ... Illustrated with Notes, Historical, Critical, and Explanatory, and a Life of the Author, by Walter Scott. Vol. X, Second Edition

Mar 14, 2011
Cover of The Lay of the Last Minstrel. by Sir Walter Scott, ... with All His Introductions, and the Editor's Notes. Illustrated by ... Engravings ... from Drawings by Birket Foster and John Gilbert.

The Lay of the Last Minstrel. by Sir Walter Scott, ... with All His Introductions, and the Editor's Notes. Illustrated by ... Engravings ... from Drawings by Birket Foster and John Gilbert.

Mar 7, 2011
Cover of The Genius And Wisdom Of Sir Walter Scott, Comprising Moral, Religious, Political, Literary, And Social Aphorisms, Selected Carefully From His Various Writings, With A Memoir

The Genius And Wisdom Of Sir Walter Scott, Comprising Moral, Religious, Political, Literary, And Social Aphorisms, Selected Carefully From His Various Writings, With A Memoir

Mar 1, 2011
Cover of Evans's Notes on Scott's Marmion. [With the Text.] with a Life of Scott, Etc.

Evans's Notes on Scott's Marmion. [With the Text.] with a Life of Scott, Etc.

Mar 1, 2011
Cover of Rob Roy. ... with Sixteen Illustrations by F. H. Townsend.

Rob Roy. ... with Sixteen Illustrations by F. H. Townsend.

Mar 1, 2011
Cover of Scott's Lady of the Lake. with Introduction, Notes, and Appendices by REV. A. E. Woodward, Etc.

Scott's Lady of the Lake. with Introduction, Notes, and Appendices by REV. A. E. Woodward, Etc.

Mar 1, 2011
Cover of The Vision of Don Roderick, and Other Poems. ... Second Edition.

The Vision of Don Roderick, and Other Poems. ... Second Edition.

Mar 1, 2011
Cover of The Prose Works of Sir Walter Scott. (Supplementary Volume

The Prose Works of Sir Walter Scott. (Supplementary Volume

Mar 1, 2011
Cover of The Novels of Sir Walter Scott, Bart. with All His Introductions and Notes.

The Novels of Sir Walter Scott, Bart. with All His Introductions and Notes.

Mar 1, 2011
Cover of The Lay of the Last Minstrel ... the Eighth Edition. with Ballads and Lyrical Pieces. (There Is Added an Appendix of Poetical Pieces, Which Are to Be

The Lay of the Last Minstrel ... the Eighth Edition. with Ballads and Lyrical Pieces. (There Is Added an Appendix of Poetical Pieces, Which Are to Be