A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z
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Life and Works: Sir Walter Scott was born on August 15, 1771 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Writer and poet, a born storyteller and master of dialogue, one of the greatest historical novelists, whose favorite subject was his native Scotland. Scott wrote twenty-seven historical novels. His influence is seen among others in the works of James Fenimore Cooper, Alexandre Dumas, and Aleksandr Pushkin. His father (also called Walter) was a Writer to the Signet (solicitor); his mother Anne Rutherford was the daughter of a professor of medicine. Scott created and popularized historical novels in a series called the Waverley Novels. In his novels Scott arranged the plots and characters so the reader enters into the lives of both great and ordinary people caught up in violent, dramatic changes in history. At the age of 18 months his right leg was rendered permanently lame by polio, and as an infant he was sent to his grandfather's farm in the Borders. There his grandmother told him tales of old heroes. Six of his 11 brothers and sisters died in infancy. However, Scott grew up to be a man over six feet and great physical endurance. He would divide his time between Edinburgh and the Borders for the rest of his life. He was educated at home until October 1779, when he was enrolled at the High School of Edinburgh. Scott studied law at Edinburgh University from 1783, with interruptions because of his illness. He was indentured in his father's legal practice on 31 March 1786, but did not qualify as an advocate until 11 July 1792. Scott was to continue in his legal career until retiring in 1830. Scott's interest in traditional ballads was formed in childhood, and during his stays in the Borders he began collecting them. He was also interested in German literature, and his first publications were translations of ballads by Gottfried Augustus Burger (1796), and of Goethe's Gotz von Berlichingen (1799). Scott married Charlotte Carpenter, daughter of Jean Charpentier of Lyon in France, on 24 December 1797. They had five children. Scott was appointed Sheriff-Depute of Selkirkshire on 16 December 1799 and went to Ashestiel in the Borders. Here he completed his first major work , the ballad collection The Minstrelsy of the Scotitbussh Border, appeared in 1802-03. The first two volumes were printed by his Kelso friend James Ballantyne, and their success led Scott to lend Ballantyne £500 so that he could set up a printing works in Edinburgh. Scott became his partner and principal shareholder, and also backed the new publishing business of Ballantyne's brother John. As a poet Scott rose into fame with the publication of The Lay of the Last Minstrel (1805) about an old border country legend. He had burned its first version, when his friends did not like it. Scott returned to the poem in 1802, when a horse had kicked him and he spent three days in bed. The Lay of the Last Minstrel became a huge success and made him the most popular author of the day. It was followed by Marmion (1808), a historical romance in tetrameter, set in 1513, and concerning the attempts of Lord Marmion to marry the rich Lady Clare. In 1810 appeared The lady in the lake and in 1813 Rokeby. Scott's last major poem, The lord of the isles, was published in 1815. Scott's work shows the influence of the 18th century enlightenment. He believed every human was basically decent regardless of class, religion, politics, or ancestry. Tolerance is a major theme in his historical works. The Waverley Novels express his belief in the need for social progress that does not reject the traditions of the past. He was the first novelist to portray peasant characters sympathetically and realistically, and was equally just to merchants, soldiers, and even kings. Waverley (1814) deals with the rebellion of 1745, which attempted to restore a Scotitbussh family to the British throne. The book set the classic pattern of the historical novel. It had a hero, whose loyalty is split between two rulers and two ways of life. Scott published all his novels anonymously. Initially this may have been a precaution against the possible failure of Waverley; but even after its enormous success, Scott seems to have enjoyed prolonging the mystery (he was nicknamed "The Great Unknown" and "The Wizard Of The North"). His identity as the author of Waverley and its successors soon became an open secret, fairly widely known, but it was not until February 1827 that he officially "revealed" himself, at a public dinner in Edinburgh. Scott's novels made him one of Europe's most famous literary figures, and he was created a baronet in 1818. Central themes of many of Scott's novels are about conflicts between opposing cultures. Ivanhoe (1819) was set in the reign of Richard I and depicted the rivalry between the King and his wicked brother John (King 1199-1216) and the war between Normans and Saxons. The Talisman (1825) is about conflict between Christians and Muslims. His novels about Scotitbussh history deal with clashes between the new English culture and the old Scotitbussh. Other great novels include Old Mortality (1816), The Heart of Midlothian (1819), and St Ronan's Well (1824). His Waverley series includes Rob Roy (1817), A Legend of Montrose (1819), and Quentin Durward (1823). Scott's amiability, generosity, and modesty made him popular with his contemporaries. He was also famous for entertaining on a grand scale at his Scotitbussh estate, Abbotsford. In January 1826, when Ballantyne's business failed, Scott was declared bankrupt, the author's anonymity was destroyed, and he was exposed to the general public as Sir Walter Scott. His wife died on 14 May. Scott visited France in 1826 to collect material for his Life of Napoleon, which was published in 9 volumes in 1827. He retired from the court in 1830, by which time his health was failing. In 1831 he cruised the Mediterranean, then in July of the following year he returned to Scotland. He died at Abbotsford on 21 September 1832 and is buried at Dryburgh Abbey. |
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