An Appreciation of Sir Walter Scott
Part V – The Waverley Novels continued
Ivanhoe
Ivanhoe, a trusted ally of Richard-The-Lion-Hearted, returns from the Crusades to reclaim the inheritance his father denied him. He defends Rebecca, a vibrant, beautiful Jewish woman, against a charge of witchcraft – but it is Lady Rowena who is his true love. What happens when he teams up with Robin Hood, brings chivalrous romance to high adventure.
The Monastery
Set on the eve of the Protestant Reformation in Scotland, The Monastery is full of supernatural events, theological conflict, and humour. Located in the lawless Scottish Borders, the novel depicts the monastery of Kennaquhair (a thinly disguised Melrose Abbey, whose ruins are still to be seen near Scott’s own home at Abbotsford) on the verge of dissolution, and the fortunes of two brothers as they respond to a new social and religious order. Highlights of the narrative include a moving encounter between two representatives of opposing sides in the Reformation controversy who had been students together in less troubled times, and the final formal procession of the Kennaquhair monks as the reformed forces arrive. A talking-point when the work was first published, the mysterious spectral White Lady, guardian of the magical Black Book, still intrigues readers. A strong comic element is provided by Sir Piercie Shafton with his absurd linguistic mannerisms fashionable at the English court.
The Abbot
This volume concludes the fiction begun in “The Monastery”. Scott follows the fortunes of young Roland Graeme as he emerges from rural obscurity to become an attendant of Mary Queen of Scots during her captivity in Lochleven Castle. Roland’s part in Mary’s escape from the Castle is excitingly narrated, and Mary herself is vividly characterised in captivity, in her brief period of freedom, and in her final defeat.
Kenilworth
No historian’s Queen Elizabeth was ever so perfectly a woman as the fictitious Elizabeth of Kenilworth,” wrote Thomas Hardy. Scott’s magnificent novel recreates the drama and the strange mixture of assurance and profound unease of the age of Elizabeth through the story of Amy Robsart. A woman of great beauty and integrity, Amy is married to the Earl of Leicester, one of the queen’s favorites, who must keep his marriage secret or else incur royal displeasure. Rich in character, melodrama, and romance, Kenilworth is rivaled only by the great Elizabethan dramas.
An Appreciation of Sir Walter Scott in Ten Parts
Part I – Walter Scott, A Short Biography
Part II – Scott The Poet.
Part III – The Waverley Novels, Introduction and The First Four Novels (Waverley, Guy Mannering, The Antiquary, Rob Roy)
Part IV The Waverley Novels continued (The Black Dwarf, Old Mortality, Heart Of Midlothian, Bride of Lammermoor, Legend Of Montrose)
Part V – The Waverley Novels continued (Ivanhoe, The Monastery, The Abbot, Kenilworth)
Part VI – The Waverley Novels continued (The Pirate, The Fortunes of Nigel, Peveril of the Peak, Quentin Durward)
Part VII – The Waverley Novels continued (St Ronan’s Well, Redgauntlet, Woodstock, Ann of Geierstein)
Parts VIII – The Waverley Novels continued (Coming Soon)
Part IX – Locations Associated with Sir Walter Scott. (Coming Soon)
Part X – Short Bibliography including Editions of The Waverley Novels. (Coming Soon)
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