Synopses & Reviews
Set within a framing narrative, these three stories take place in the years following the Jacobite defeat and feature characters who are leaving Scotland to seek their fortunes elsewhere. In two of Walter Scott's best-known tales,
The Highland Widow and
The Two Drovers, two young men are torn between traditional Scottish loyalties and the opportunities offered by England.
The Surgeon's Daughter follows three young Scots to India during the first years of the British Empire. All three highlight Scott's unique gift for re-creating the spirit of historical eras and painting stirring portraits of Scottish people.
Synopsis
Set within a framing narrative told by Chrystal Croftangry, these three stories are set in the years following the Jacobite defeat and all feature characters who are leaving Scotland to seek their fortunes elsewhere. In 'The Highland Widow' and 'The Two Drovers', two young men find themselves torn between traditional Scottish loyalties and the opportunities offered by England. And 'The Surgeon's Daughter' follows three young Scots to India during the first phase years of the British Empire.
Synopsis
Includes bibliographical references (p. xxxix-xlvi).
About the Author
Sir Walter Scott was born in Edinburgh in 1771. Educated for the law, he obtained the office of sheriff-depute of Selkirkshire in 1799 and in 1806 the office of clerk of session, a post whose duties he fulfilled for some twenty-five years. His lifelong interest in Scottish antiquity and the ballads which recorded Scottish history led him to try his hand at narrative poems of adventure and action. The Lay of the Last Minstrel (1805), Marmion (1808), and The Lady of the Lake (1810) made his reputation as one of the leading poets of his time. A novel, Waverley, which he had begun in 1805, was published anonymously in 1814. Subsequent novels appeared with the note “by the author of Waverley”; hence his novels often are called collectively “the Waverley novels.” Some of the most famous of these are Old Mortality (1816), Rob Roy (1817), Ivanhoe (1819), Kenilworth (1821), and Quentin Durward (1823). In recognition of his literary work Scott was made a baronet in 1819. During his last years he held various official positions and published biographies, editions of Swift and Dryden, tales, lyric poetry, and various studies of history and antiquity. He died in 1832.