Watching a bewildering world from the middle of nowhere
Walter Scott in his study, with a cat Sir Walter Scott’s home, Abbotsford, is an enchanting place. I was not surprised on my visit to Abbotsford to see that he had cats, including a favorite cat, Hinse, whose portrait is among the many portraits in Abbotsford’s armoury room. I said to Ken that any writer … Continue reading “Cats and Sir Walter Scott”
As an amateur scholar of Sir Walter Scott’s novels, I’m very interested in non-amateur Sir Walter Scott scholarship. As far as I can tell, though, not all that many people pursue an academic interest in Sir Walter Scott. Scott has fallen out of fashion. As I’ve argued before, we’re overdue for a Walter Scott revival. … Continue reading “The Edinburgh Sir Walter Scott Club”
I had high hopes for The Bride of Lammermoor, the sixth novel by Sir Walter Scott that I have read. But it let me down. Though there was some fine Scottish gothic atmosphere — seaside castles, witches, and violent storms — the story really came down to little more than youthful folly and parental cruelty … Continue reading “My last Walter Scott post for a while, I promise”
I’ve written here in the past about how, when I can’t find newer fiction that appeals to me (often the case), I read a classic. It was back in 2013 when I read The Antiquary. Last year I read The Heart of Mid-Lothian, and earlier this year I started (but didn’t finish) Ivanhoe. I found … Continue reading “We’re overdue for a Sir Walter Scott revival”
Once again, unable at present to find any newer fiction that seems worthwhile, I have turned to Sir Walter Scott — this time, Ivanhoe. Reading Sir Walter Scott can be hard work for contemporary readers. Even in the early 1800s when his novels were being published, Scott’s style would have been pretty florid, I think. … Continue reading “Sir Walter Scott: a great writer, but oddly Frenchified”
I have had a heck of a time finding reading material this winter. Though the iPad and the Kindle app make it extremely easy to acquire and sample books, I generally start three or four books for every book I finish, just because most books aren’t worth finishing (to my tastes, at least), and I … Continue reading “Sir Walter Scott”
Click here for high-resolution version. I’m back from Scotland. On this trip, I spent two days in Inverness. The first stop after checking into the hotel was Leakey’s Book Shop, which is said to be the largest seller of used books in Scotland. It would take all day, and then some, to explore the entire … Continue reading “Leakey’s Book Shop”
John Buchan (right) and Roy Tash looking through the viewfinder of an Akeley camera. Source: Library and Archive of Canada, c. 1937. Discovering just one new extraordinarily good writer a year is a wonderful thing, though all my bookselves are full, and, once again, teetering stacks of unshelved books are forming on the table beside … Continue reading “John Buchan”
Click here for high-resolution version. John Gibson Lockhart, 1794-1854, is best known as the author of a seven-volume biography of Sir Walter Scott. He married Scott’s oldest daughter, Sophia. Scott died in 1832. Lockhart, 23 years younger than Scott, died at Abbotsford, Scott’s home in the Scottish borders. In addition to the biography of Scott, … Continue reading “Reginald Dalton”
If you are a native speaker of English, then Scots is a language that you already 65 percent (more or less) understand. Totally aside from my interest in Scotland and Sir Walter Scott, I find that fact, from linguistics, fascinating. At first I conceived of Scots as just a dialect of English. But scholars see … Continue reading “The New Testament in Scots”