Sir Walter Scott - The Black Dwarf: "Of all vices, drinking is the most incompatible with greatness." - Softcover

Scott, Sir Walter

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1783943718 ISBN 13: 9781783943715

Publisher: A Word To The Wise, 2014

Synopsis

Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet, FRSE, was a Scottish playwright, novelist and poet who became the first English-language author to be internationally celebrated within their own lifetime. Although he wrote extensively, he was by profession an advocate and judge, and continued to practice alongside his writing career. Scott was fascinated by the oral tradition of the Scottish borders, with its poetry, folklore and legend, and he collected stories throughout his youth and as a young man, almost obsessively. Scott’s friend, James Ballantyne, had founded a printing press in 1796 , and had published much of Scott’s early work, including the Lay of the Last Minstrel which firmly established Scott’ position in the Scottish literary tradition, and that of English literature as a whole. Scott was by now printing regularly with the Ballantynes and convinced them to relocate their press to Edinburgh and became a partner in their business. In 1813 Scott was offered the post of Poet Laureate, but turned the offer down and the position was taken by Robert Southey. Until now he had predominately written poetry however he became interested in the novel form despite its comparative unpopularity for a supposed aesthetic inferiority. Owing to this he published his first novel, Waverley, anonymously, in 1814. Its success encouraged several more novels, all of which were published under “Author of Waverley” as a means of piggybacking the success of Waverley and because Scott feared his traditional father would disapprove of such a trivial pursuit as novel writing. Scott came to be known as the “Wizard of the North” for his writing, and among literary circles it was an open secret that he was the author of these novels. In 1815 the Prince Regent, George, dined with him as he wished to meet the “Author of Waverley”. By 1825 a banking crisis was crippling the nation and the Ballantyne printing company went under with Scott left with debts of £130,000 (approx. £10mil in 2014). His pride kept him from accepting financial aid (even from his admirer, King George) or declaring himself bankrupt. He resolved to continue writing until he could pay his debts. Compounding these unfortunate circumstances was the death of his wife in 1826. However, he maintained his enormous literary output until 1831 by which point his health had begun to fail and he died on September 21st 1832. At his death he was still in debt, the continuing sales of his work ensured that all debt was discharged shortly after he died.

About this title

Review

The Edinburgh Edition is a monument to scholarly industry ! a must for Scott scholars. -- Alan Bold The Edinburgh Edition presents a slimmer, more handsome and more readable Scott. There is no parade of scholarship; the notes are concise and anticipate exactly what the general reader will want to have explained. This new edition provides just the right combination of readability and unobtrusive scholarly editing. The Edinburgh Edition is a monument to scholarly industry ! a must for Scott scholars. The Edinburgh Edition presents a slimmer, more handsome and more readable Scott. There is no parade of scholarship; the notes are concise and anticipate exactly what the general reader will want to have explained. This new edition provides just the right combination of readability and unobtrusive scholarly editing.

About the Author

Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet, (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832) was a Scottish historical novelist, playwright and poet. Many of his works remain classics of both English-language literature and of Scottish literature. Famous titles include Ivanhoe, Rob Roy, Old Mortality, The Lady of the Lake, Waverley, The Heart of Midlothian and The Bride of Lammermoor. Although primarily remembered for his extensive literary works and his political engagement, Scott was an advocate, judge and legal administrator by profession, and throughout his career combined his writing and editing work with his daily occupation as Clerk of Session and Sheriff-Depute of Selkirkshire.

About this edition

• Publisher: A Word To The Wise
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1783943718
• ISBN 13: 9781783943715
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 108