Post by andi on Aug 20, 2005 23:20:38 GMT 10
Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832)
Sir Walter Scott was a master of diverse talents in letters, a dedicated historian and historiographer, a well-read translator of foreign texts, and a talented poet. However, he is best remembered as one of the first authors, if not the first, of the historical novel.
Born to educated parents in Edinburgh, Scotland (Scott's father was a lawyer), Scott supplemented an education in law with a voracious appetite for history and a penchant for readings in a variety of languages. Scott joined the Scottish Bar in 1786, was appointed the Sheriff of County Selkirk in 1799, a title he kept for his entire life, and appointed Clerk to the Court of Session in Edinburgh in 1806. After a painful romance that ended unhappily, Scott married Charlotte Carpenter in 1797 in a happy alliance that lasted until her death in 1826.
Scott could have made a comfortable living off of his various legal occupations were it not for his ill-fated partnership in the perennially bankrupt Ballantyne Press. But turning to letters was more than just a means of supplementing his income, it was an expression of a childhood passion for history and the written word.
After some unremarkable work translating German Romantic poetry, Scott turned his attention to his native Scotland, compiling a collection of Scottish Border Ballads and writing a number of full-length poems including the highly successful "Marmion" (1808) and "The Lady of the Lake" (1810).
Facing financial troubles as a partner in a failed printing company, Scott's earnings as a writer (supplemented by an income as a county official) barely kept pace with his mounting debts. Facing competition in the field of narrative poetry, specifically from an ascendant Lord Byron, Scott turned to novel-writing. Unearthing an unfinished manuscript he'd abandoned nearly a decade earlier, Scott feverishly wrote the historical novel Waverly (1814). Set against the dramatic backdrop of the 1745 Jacobite rebellion, Waverly showed Scott's gifts of characterization and lush description -- it was a smash among both critics and the public. Waverly's success yielded two successive volumes, Guy Mannering (1815) and The Antiquary (1816), which created a trilogy known now as the "Waverly Novels".
Scott's facility with historical description and thrilling action was matched by his singular ear for dialogue, specifically that of his native Scotland. His writing struck a deep cord, in Scotland and Britain and many successful novels followed: Rob Roy (1818) and The Heart of Midlothian (1818), Kenilworth (1821), Redgauntlet (1824) and the Talisman (1825). But, with the possible exception of the "Waverly Novels," Scott's most popular and most enduring novel is Ivanhoe (1819). Set in an England still divided after the Norman Conquest; between the Saxons and their Norman suzerains; between freemen and serfs. Ivanhoe weaves a powerful tale of chivalry and romance that also manages to draw on the legendary Robert of Locksley, also known as Robin the Hood. Ivanhoe also offers the gallant tensions of the maiden in peril and knights errant who serve as their champions.
Though his books were very popular, not to mention profitable, Scott could only stay one step ahead of his creditors. Shortly after his wife died in 1826, Scott's health began to decline, and in 1832 he died in his native Scotland. It was only after his death that his debts, which had at one time amounted to the staggering sum of 120,000, were finally paid off.
Scott's novels reflect a wistful view of a heroic past, particularly of Scotland, a past quickly disappearing with the advances of Industry and British unification. Having pulled together various forms of literary expression to form a singularly modern one - the historical novel - Scott remains preeminent in this field. His stamp on literary history remains undimmed.
www.knowledgerush.com/kr/biography/182/Sir_Walter_Scott/
Sir Walter Scott was a master of diverse talents in letters, a dedicated historian and historiographer, a well-read translator of foreign texts, and a talented poet. However, he is best remembered as one of the first authors, if not the first, of the historical novel.
Born to educated parents in Edinburgh, Scotland (Scott's father was a lawyer), Scott supplemented an education in law with a voracious appetite for history and a penchant for readings in a variety of languages. Scott joined the Scottish Bar in 1786, was appointed the Sheriff of County Selkirk in 1799, a title he kept for his entire life, and appointed Clerk to the Court of Session in Edinburgh in 1806. After a painful romance that ended unhappily, Scott married Charlotte Carpenter in 1797 in a happy alliance that lasted until her death in 1826.
Scott could have made a comfortable living off of his various legal occupations were it not for his ill-fated partnership in the perennially bankrupt Ballantyne Press. But turning to letters was more than just a means of supplementing his income, it was an expression of a childhood passion for history and the written word.
After some unremarkable work translating German Romantic poetry, Scott turned his attention to his native Scotland, compiling a collection of Scottish Border Ballads and writing a number of full-length poems including the highly successful "Marmion" (1808) and "The Lady of the Lake" (1810).
Facing financial troubles as a partner in a failed printing company, Scott's earnings as a writer (supplemented by an income as a county official) barely kept pace with his mounting debts. Facing competition in the field of narrative poetry, specifically from an ascendant Lord Byron, Scott turned to novel-writing. Unearthing an unfinished manuscript he'd abandoned nearly a decade earlier, Scott feverishly wrote the historical novel Waverly (1814). Set against the dramatic backdrop of the 1745 Jacobite rebellion, Waverly showed Scott's gifts of characterization and lush description -- it was a smash among both critics and the public. Waverly's success yielded two successive volumes, Guy Mannering (1815) and The Antiquary (1816), which created a trilogy known now as the "Waverly Novels".
Scott's facility with historical description and thrilling action was matched by his singular ear for dialogue, specifically that of his native Scotland. His writing struck a deep cord, in Scotland and Britain and many successful novels followed: Rob Roy (1818) and The Heart of Midlothian (1818), Kenilworth (1821), Redgauntlet (1824) and the Talisman (1825). But, with the possible exception of the "Waverly Novels," Scott's most popular and most enduring novel is Ivanhoe (1819). Set in an England still divided after the Norman Conquest; between the Saxons and their Norman suzerains; between freemen and serfs. Ivanhoe weaves a powerful tale of chivalry and romance that also manages to draw on the legendary Robert of Locksley, also known as Robin the Hood. Ivanhoe also offers the gallant tensions of the maiden in peril and knights errant who serve as their champions.
Though his books were very popular, not to mention profitable, Scott could only stay one step ahead of his creditors. Shortly after his wife died in 1826, Scott's health began to decline, and in 1832 he died in his native Scotland. It was only after his death that his debts, which had at one time amounted to the staggering sum of 120,000, were finally paid off.
Scott's novels reflect a wistful view of a heroic past, particularly of Scotland, a past quickly disappearing with the advances of Industry and British unification. Having pulled together various forms of literary expression to form a singularly modern one - the historical novel - Scott remains preeminent in this field. His stamp on literary history remains undimmed.
www.knowledgerush.com/kr/biography/182/Sir_Walter_Scott/