The Edinburgh Edition of the Waverley Novels by Walter Scott appeared in thirty volumes between 1993 and 2012. Published by Edinburgh University Press, it was the first complete critical edition of the novels.
On 22 June 1983 Archie Turnbull, the Secretary of Edinburgh University Press, announced that his Press Committee had authorised him to investigate the feasibility of undertaking a critical edition of the novels and related fiction of Walter Scott and to welcome expressions of interest. [1]
On 17 February 1984 a group of scholars and other interested parties met at a conference organised by David Daiches, making the decision that (in principle) the new edition should be based on early editions rather than the revised texts in the final 'Magnum' edition of 1829–33, and that David Hewitt of the University of Aberdeen should be Editor-in-Chief. [2] After three years' detailed research the early-text policy was confirmed at a further conference in January 1987, with David Nordloh of the University of Indiana again acting as special advisor. [3]
The novels were published in batches between 1993 and 2009, with the final two volumes (25a and 25b) of Introductions and Notes from the Magnum Opus edition appearing in 2012.
Almost all earlier editions of the Waverley Novels had been based on the 'Magnum' text prepared by Scott at the end of his life, the only significant exception being Claire Lamont's 1981 edition of Waverley, which took the first edition text as its basis. [4] The Edinburgh Edition followed Lamont in basing their texts on the first editions, citing a wish that readers should experience the novels more as they first appeared, and their recognition that many errors were introduced between first publication and the 'Magnum'. [5] Until Scott's acknowledgment of his authorship of the Waverley Novels in 1827 his manuscripts were copied and the copy sent to the printer, to preserve his anonymity. He relied on intermediaries to convert his rudimentary punctuation into a form suitable for public consumption, but in the process mistakes were made: words were misread, passages were omitted, and the punctuation was sometimes misinterpreted. [6] The Edinburgh Edition therefore emended the first-edition copy text extensively, mainly from the manuscripts, and from author's proofs where they survive. Emendations were not introduced from later editions up to the 'Magnum' except to correct clear persisting errors. [7]
Period | Volume Number | Title | First Published | Main setting | Editor | Year of Publication | Pages |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1097 | 23a | Count Robert of Paris | 1831 | Constantinople and Scutari (now in Turkey) | J. H. Alexander | 2006 | 365 |
1187–92 | 18a | The Betrothed | 1825 | Wales, and Gloucester (England) | J. B. Ellis with J. H. Alexander and David Hewitt | 2009 | 278 |
1191 | 18b | The Talisman | 1825 | The Holy Land | J. B. Ellis with J. H. Alexander, David Hewitt, and P. D. Garside | 2009 | 278 |
1194 | 08 | Ivanhoe | 1819 | Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire (England) | Graham Tulloch | 1998 | 401 |
1307 | 23b | Castle Dangerous | 1831 | Lanarkshire (Scotland) | J. H. Alexander | 2006 | 190 |
1396-1406 | 21 | St Valentine's Day or The Fair Maid of Perth | 1828 | Perthshire (Scotland) | A. D. Hook and Donald Mackenzie | 1999 | 397 |
1468 | 15 | Quentin Durward | 1823 | Tours and Péronne (France) Liège (Wallonia/Belgium) | J. H. Alexander and G. A. M. Wood | 2001 | 401 |
1474-7 | 22 | Anne of Geierstein or The Maiden of the Mist | 1829 | Switzerland and Eastern France | J. H. Alexander | 2000 | 403 |
1547–57 | 09 | The Monastery | 1820 | Scottish Borders | Penny Fielding | 2000 | 354 |
1567-8 | 10 | The Abbot | 1820 | Various in Scotland | Christopher Johnson | 2008 | 375 |
1575 | 11 | Kenilworth | 1821 | Berkshire and Warwickshire (England) | J. H. Alexander | 1993 | 392 |
1616–8 | 13 | The Fortunes of Nigel | 1822 | London and Greenwich (England) | Frank Jordan | 2004 | 406 |
1644-5 | 07b | A Legend of Montrose | 1819 | Scottish Highlands | J. H. Alexander | 1993 | 183 |
1652 | 19 | Woodstock or The Cavalier | 1826 | Woodstock and Windsor (England) Brussels, in the Spanish Netherlands | Tony Inglis with J. H. Alexander, David Hewitt, and Alison Lumsden | 2009 | 417 |
1658–80 | 14 | Peveril of the Peak | 1822 | Derbyshire, the Isle of Man, and London | Alison Lumsden | 2007 | 495 |
1679–89 | 04b | The Tale of Old Mortality | 1816 | Southern Scotland | Douglas Mack | 1993 | 353 |
1689 | 12 | The Pirate | 1822 | Shetland and Orkney | Alison Lumsden and Mark Weinstein | 2001 | 391 |
1707 | 04a | The Black Dwarf | 1816 | Scottish Borders | P. D. Garside | 1993 | 124 |
1709–11 | 07a | The Bride of Lammermoor | 1819 | East Lothian (Scotland) | J. H. Alexander | 1993 | 269 |
1715–6 | 05 | Rob Roy | 1818 | Northumberland (England), and the environs of Loch Lomond (Scotland) | David Hewitt | 2008 | 343 |
1736 | 06 | The Heart of Midlothian | 1818 | Edinburgh and Richmond, London | David Hewitt and Alison Lumsden | 2004 | 469 |
1745–6 | 01 | Waverley or 'Tis Sixty Years Since | 1814 | Perthshire (Scotland) | P. D. Garside | 2007 | 365 |
1760-5, 1781–2 | 02 | Guy Mannering or The Astrologer | 1815 | Galloway (Scotland) | P. D. Garside | 1999 | 355 |
1766 | 17 | Redgauntlet | 1824 | Southern Scotland, and Cumberland (England) | G. A. M. Wood with David Hewitt | 1997 | 380 |
1760s-1781 | 20 | The Surgeon's Daughter | 1827 | Fife and Edinburgh, (Scotland) and Madras, Srirangapatna, Bangalore, and Mysore (South India) | Claire Lamont | 2001 | 128 |
1775 | 20 | The Highland Widow | 1827 | Oban (Scotland) | Claire Lamont | 2001 | 55 |
1794 | 03 | The Antiquary | 1816 | North-East Scotland | David Hewitt | 1995 | 356 |
1795 | 20 | The 2 Drovers | 1827 | Doune and Falkirk, (Scotland) and Cumberland (North West England) | Claire Lamont | 2001 | 22 |
1800s-20s | 16 | Saint Ronan's Well | 1824 | Southern Scotland | Mark Weinstein | 1995 | 373 |
18th century | 24 | The Shorter Fiction: The Inferno of Altisidora Christopher Corduroy Alarming Increase of Depravity Among Animals Phantasmagoria My Aunt Margaret's Mirror The Tapestried Chamber Death of the Laird's Jock "A Highland Anecdote" | 1811-32 | Various | Graham Tulloch and Judy King | 2009 | 100 |
1829-32 | 25a 25b | Introductions and Notes from the Magnum Opus | 1829-33 | J. H. Alexander with P. D. Garside and Claire Lamont | 2012 | 492 776 |
Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet, was a Scottish historian, novelist, poet, and playwright. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels Ivanhoe (1819), Rob Roy (1817), Waverley (1814), Old Mortality (1816), The Heart of Mid-Lothian (1818), and The Bride of Lammermoor (1819), along with the narrative poems Marmion (1808) and The Lady of the Lake (1810). He had a major impact on European and American literature.
Waverley; or, ’Tis Sixty Years Since is a historical novel by Walter Scott (1771–1832). Scott was already famous as a poet, and chose to publish Waverley anonymously in 1814 as his first venture into prose fiction. It is often regarded as one of the first historical novels in the Western tradition.
Rob Roy (1817) is a historical novel by Walter Scott, one of the Waverley novels. It is probably set in 1715, the year of the second Jacobite rising, and the social and economic background to that event are an important element in the novel, though it is not treated directly. The depiction of Rob Roy bears little relation to the historical figure: 'there are two Rob Roys. One lived and breathed. The other is a good story, a lively tale set in the past. Both may be accepted as "valid", but they serve different needs and interests.'
James Ballantyne was a Scottish solicitor, editor and publisher who worked for his friend Sir Walter Scott. His brother John Ballantyne (1774–1821) was also with the publishing firm, which is noted for the publication of the Novelist's Library (1820), and many works edited or written by Scott.
The Bride of Lammermoor is a historical novel by Sir Walter Scott, published in 1819, one of the Waverley novels. The novel is set in the Lammermuir Hills of south-east Scotland, shortly before the Act of Union of 1707, or shortly after the Act. It tells of a tragic love affair between young Lucy Ashton and her family's enemy Edgar Ravenswood. Scott indicated the plot was based on an actual incident. The Bride of Lammermoor and A Legend of Montrose were published together anonymously as the third of Scott's Tales of My Landlord series. The story is the basis for Donizetti's 1835 opera Lucia di Lammermoor.
The Talisman is one of the Waverley novels by Sir Walter Scott. Published in 1825 as the second of his Tales of the Crusaders, it is set during the Third Crusade and centres on the relationship between Richard I of England and Saladin.
The Antiquary (1816), the third of the Waverley novels by Walter Scott, centres on the character of an antiquary: an amateur historian, archaeologist and collector of items of dubious antiquity. He is the eponymous character and for all practical purposes the hero, though the characters of Lovel and Isabella Wardour provide the conventional love interest. The Antiquary was Scott's own favourite of his novels, and is one of his most critically well-regarded works; H. J. C. Grierson, for example, wrote that "Not many, apart from Shakespeare, could write scenes in which truth and poetry, realism and romance, are more wonderfully presented."
Old Mortality is one of the Waverley novels by Walter Scott. Set in south west Scotland, it forms, along with The Black Dwarf, the 1st series of his Tales of My Landlord (1816). The novel deals with the period of the Covenanters, featuring their victory at Loudoun Hill and their defeat at Bothwell Bridge, both in June 1679; a final section is set in 1689 at the time of the royalist defeat at Killiecrankie.
A Legend of Montrose is an historical novel by Sir Walter Scott, set in Scotland in the 1640s during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It forms, along with The Bride of Lammermoor, the 3rd series of Scott's Tales of My Landlord. The two novels were published together in 1819.
The Heart of Mid-Lothian is the seventh of Sir Walter Scott's Waverley Novels. It was originally published in four volumes on 25 July 1818, under the title of Tales of My Landlord, 2nd series, and the author was given as "Jedediah Cleishbotham, Schoolmaster and Parish-clerk of Gandercleugh". The main action, which takes place between September 1736 and May 1737, is set in motion by the Porteous Riots in Edinburgh and involves an epic journey from Edinburgh to London by a working-class girl to obtain a royal commutation of the death penalty incurred by her sister for the alleged murder of her new-born baby. Despite some negative contemporary reviews, some now consider it Scott's best novel.
Redgauntlet (1824) is a historical novel by Sir Walter Scott, one of the Waverley novels, set primarily in Dumfriesshire, southwest Scotland, in 1765, and described by Magnus Magnusson as "in a sense, the most autobiographical of Scott's novels." It describes a plot to start a fictional third Jacobite Rebellion, and includes "Wandering Willie's Tale", a famous short story which frequently appears in anthologies.
One of the Waverley Novels by Walter Scott, The Black Dwarf was part of his Tales of My Landlord, 1st series (1816). It is set in 1708, in the Scottish Borders, against the background of the first uprising to be attempted by the Jacobites after the Act of Union.
The Waverley Novels are a long series of novels by Sir Walter Scott (1771–1832). For nearly a century, they were among the most popular and widely read novels in Europe.
Woodstock, or The Cavalier. A Tale of the Year Sixteen Hundred and Fifty-one (1826) is a historical novel by Sir Walter Scott, one of the Waverley novels. Set just after the English Civil War, it was inspired by the legend of the Good Devil of Woodstock, which in 1649 supposedly tormented parliamentary commissioners who had taken possession of a royal residence at Woodstock, Oxfordshire. The story deals with the escape of Charles II in 1652, during the Commonwealth, and his final triumphant entry into London on 29 May 1660.
Castle Dangerous (1831) was the last of Walter Scott's Waverley novels. It is part of Tales of My Landlord, 4th series, with Count Robert of Paris. The castle of the title is Douglas Castle in Lanarkshire, and the action, based on an episode in The Brus by John Barbour, is set in March 1307 against the background of the First War of Scottish Independence.
Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border is an anthology of Border ballads, together with some from north-east Scotland and a few modern literary ballads, edited by Walter Scott. It was first published by Archibald Constable in Edinburgh in 1802, but was expanded in several later editions, reaching its final state in 1830, two years before Scott's death. It includes many of the most famous Scottish ballads, such as Sir Patrick Spens, The Young Tamlane, The Twa Corbies, The Douglas Tragedy, Clerk Saunders, Kempion, The Wife of Usher's Well, The Cruel Sister, The Dæmon Lover, and Thomas the Rhymer. Scott enlisted the help of several collaborators, notably John Leyden, and found his ballads both by field research of his own and by consulting the manuscript collections of others. Controversially, in the editing of his texts he preferred literary quality over scholarly rigour, but Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border nevertheless attracted high praise from the first. It was influential both in Britain and on the Continent, and helped to decide the course of Scott's later career as a poet and novelist. In recent years it has been called "the most exciting collection of ballads ever to appear."
The Betrothed (1825) is one of the Waverley novels by Sir Walter Scott. Set in the Welsh Marches in the 12th century it is the first of two Tales of the Crusaders, the second being The Talisman.
The letters of Sir Walter Scott, the novelist and poet, range in date from September 1788, when he was aged 17, to June 1832, a few weeks before his death. About 7000 letters from Scott are known, and about 6500 letters addressed to him. The major repository of both is the National Library of Scotland. H. J. C. Grierson's The Letters of Sir Walter Scott (1932–1937), though it includes only about 3500, remains the standard edition.
Claire Lamont was a British academic who was Emeritus Professor of English literature at Newcastle University and a specialist in the oeuvres of Jane Austen and Sir Walter Scott. She was a winner of the British Academy's Rose Mary Crawshay Prize in 1983.
Walter Scott's "Memoirs", first published as "Memoir of the Early Life of Sir Walter Scott, Written by Himself" and also known as the Ashestiel fragment, is a short autobiographical work describing the author's ancestry, parentage, and life up to the age of 22. It is the most important source of information we have on Scott's early life. It was mainly written between 1808 and 1811, then revised and completed in 1826, and first published posthumously in 1837 as Chapter 1 of J. G. Lockhart's multi-volume Memoirs of the Life of Sir Walter Scott, Bart. It was re-edited in 1981 by David Hewitt.