Synopses & Reviews
Set in 1679 during the Scottish populist rebellion known as the Covenanter uprising, Old Mortality is one of the outstanding historical fictions of the nineteenth century. Henry Morton of Milnewood is compelled to take up arms against the royalists, who are led by Claverhouse, a true villain in Scottish history who is, nonetheless, one of Scott's most complex characters. A moderate Covenanter, Horton whose loyalties are divided by his love for Edith, the beautiful granddaughter of Lady Margaret Bellenden is one of the "people's heroes" who challenge King Charles II and change the course of Scottish history. Old Mortality is Scott's undisputed masterpiece and distills the humor, grit, and romance of the west of Scotland, past and present.
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.