Sir Walter Scott
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Edgar's family and their home, Ravenswood, is well-respected and revered by the people of Scotland, until their political endorsement invites controversy. When Edgar's father is stripped of his noble title due for supporting King James VII, Lucy's father, Sir William, buys their family estate. Meant to be the rightful master of Ravenswood, Edgar is livid, and feels that his family legacy, has been usurped. Soon, dreaming of getting vengeance, Edgar...
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Set in the 16th century when Elizabeth I ruled England, and her cousin, Mary, ruled Scotland, The Monastery depicts the religious tension and restlessness that existed along Scotland's border. While Elizabeth ruled with her Anglican beliefs, Mary was a Catholic, and with much of their culture intermixing, this sowed unrest. While this feud between the Catholic church and the Anglican heretical church rages on, two families, the Glendenning's and the...
3) Waverley
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First published anonymously in 1814, "Waverley" was Sir Walter Scott's first novel and one of his most popular. The story is set in the Scotland of 1745 amidst the Jacobite uprising and follows the young Edward Waverley, an English officer in the Hanoverian army. He is sent to Scotland and while on leave from training he visits friends of his family in the Lowlands and the Highlands. Waverley meets lairds and chieftains, and he is soon caught up in...
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Members of Montrose's army, Allan M'Aulay and Earl of Menteith, navigate the perils of war after falling for a young woman with a hidden heritage. The men go on a physical and emotional journey that will put their loyalty to the test. Allan M'Aulay and Earl of Menteith are royalists in favor of Montrose. Allan has a personal vendetta against the MacEagh clan, who previously brought harm and death to his family. Both Allan and Menteith are in love...
5) The Talisman
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When King Richard the Lionheart's health began to decline, the English leader organized a truce with the leader of the Islamic forces, Saladin. Agreeing to cease the battles on the condition that Jerusalem would be under Muslim control, the two leaders gave orders to their troops to return to their homes. However, Sir Kenneth, a Scottish knight, was in the search of a certain monk rather than his home when he encounters Emir, a cavalryman for Saladin's...
6) Kenilworth
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Robert Dudley, the first Earl of Leicester, is happy with his wife, Amy Robsart, but will not let her tell anyone that they are married. Even though they both love each other, Robert values power and popularity much more than he values his wife. After secluding Amy in a house called Cumnor Hall with the help of his henchman, Varney, Robert entertains the idea of marrying Queen Elizabeth I. Fueled by desire for the power of the throne, Robert hides...
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In ill health following a stroke, Sir Walter Scott wrote 'Letters on Demonology and Witchcraft' at the behest of his son-in-law, J. G. Lockhart, who worked for a publishing firm. The book proved popular and Scott was paid six hundred pounds, which he desperately needed. (Despite his success as a novelist, Scott was almost ruined when the Ballantyne publishing firm, where he was a partner, went bankrupt in 1826.) 'Letters' was written when educated...
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After James Douglas and his daughter Ellen are banished from their home, they go into hiding with the help of several enemies of the king. The Lady of the Lake is an intricate story filled with political and social intrigue, romance and chivalry.
James Douglas is the former Earl of Bothwell, who once mentored King James V of Scotland. He is currently exiled from the realm and living on the outskirts of the kingdom. Douglas and his daughter Ellen...
9) Ivanhoe
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One of Sir Walter Scott's most popular and influential works, "Ivanhoe" is the story of one of the last remaining Saxon noble families. At the beginning of the novel we find its titular character, Sir Wilfred of Ivanhoe, who has been disinherited by his father for his allegiance to the Norman king, Richard the Lionheart, and for falling in love with the Lady Rowena, returning from the Third Crusade. Wilfred's father, Cedric, had planned to marry Lady...
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Set during the Jacobite rising in Scotland in 1745, this novel springs from Scott's childhood recollections and his desire to preserve in writing the features of life in the Highlands and Lowlands of Scotland. Waverley was first published anonymously in 1814 and was Scott's first novel.
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This book contains Sir Walter Scott's 1823 historical novel, "Peveril of the Peak". Julian Peveril is a Cavalier accused of being involved with the "Popish Plot". He is also desperately in love with Alice Bridgenorth, the daughter of a Roundhead. Set in Derbyshire, it is a masterful piece of English civil war fiction and part of Scott's famous Waverley Novels series. "Peveril of the Peak" is the longest novel written by Scott and constitutes a must-read...
12) The Betrothed
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The Betrothed is the first of two Tales of the Crusaders. The action takes place in the Welsh Marches during the latter part of the reign of Henry II, after 1187. Eveline, the 16-year-old daughter of Sir Raymond Berenger, is rescued from a Welsh siege by the forces of Damian Lacy. She is betrothed to his uncle, Sir Hugo, who leaves on a crusade. Rebels led by Ranald Lacy attempt to kidnap her, and Damian fights them off, but a confused sequence of...
13) Quentin Durward
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Quentin Durward, an archer and mercenary, gains the favor of Louis XI of France and the love of the beautiful Burgundian heiress, Isabelle de Croye. This is a captivating tale full of action, adventure and unexpected challenge. A poor Scotsman named Quentin Durward travels to France to find military work. He joins the royal party of King Louis XI, who is at odds with Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy. When the king is attacked by a boar, Quentin...
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Nigel Olifaunt, a Scottish nobleman, travels to England to collect a debt on his late father's behalf, but is ultimately met with deception and disappointment. The Fortunes of Nigel is one man's tumultuous journey to keep what's rightfully his. Following his father's death, Nigel Olifaunt leaves his native Scotland for London, England. He plans to meet with King James VI to recoup the money his family originally lent to the crown. Despite a legitimate...
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From the opening sequence, a horse ride home by the surgeon of the title, Scott takes us straight into his story which contains some Dickensian surprises and later on an exotic Empire location. Scott's childhood lameness might go some way to explaining the liberating horse riding sequences which in turn might explain his popularity in America. This is a Western set in a Scottish climate.
16) The Black Dwarf
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The story is set just after the Union of Scotland and England, in the Liddesdale hills of the Scottish Borders, familiar to Scott from his work collecting ballads for The Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border. The main character is based on David Ritchie, whom Scott met in the autumn of 1797. In the tale, the dwarf is Sir Edward Mauley, a hermit regarded by the locals as being in league with the Devil, who becomes embroiled in a complex tale of love,...
17) Redgauntlet
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Redgauntlet is a historical novel by Sir Walter Scott and part of his Waverley Novels series. Set in Dumfries, Scotland in 1765, it describes the genesis of a third Jacobite Rebellion. It also includes "Wandering Willie's Tale", a well-known short story frequently featured in anthologies. An entertaining and masterful-written novel, Redgauntlet is highly recommended for fans of English civil war fiction and is not to be missed by lovers of Scott's...
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This is Sir Walter Scott's 1828 novel, "The Fair Maid of Perth". Inspired by the uncanny story of the Battle of the North Inch, it tells the tale of Catherine Glover, a glove maker's daughter who kisses an armorer called Henry Smith on Valentine's day during his sleep. However, a duke has his sights set on Catherine and an abduction attempt ensues. Complete with royal intrigue and feuding clans, "The Fair Maid of Perth" will not disappoint fans of...
19) St. Ronan's Well
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In his only novel set in his own time, Scott's St. Ronan's Well depicts the trials and tribulations of a fictional seaside town. The plot centers on Valentine Bulmer and his half-brother Francis Tyrrel and their fight over Miss Clara Mowbray, the sister of the village laird.
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Published in 1827, Chronicles of the Canongate marks Sir Walter Scott's first foray into shorter fiction. This collection of three stories--"The Highland Widow," "The Two Drovers," and "The Surgeon's Daughter"--delves into the dramatic lives of Scottish characters finding adventure away from home in the late eighteenth century.