Sir Walter Scott

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 the Jacobite cause and develops romantic...

First published with great success in 1814, Scott’s first novel is set in the Scotland of 1745, amidst the Jacobite uprising. Widely considered the first English historical novel, this story of self-discovery follows the young Edward Waverley, an English soldier in the Hanoverian army. He is sent to Scotland, and there he visits both the Lowlands and the Highlands. Waverley meets both lairds and chieftains, and he is soon caught up in both the Jacobite cause and in romantic feelings for the...