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Sir Walter Scott

1771 - 1832

Walter Scott was born in Edinburgh, as the son of a solicitor Walter Scott and Anne, a daughter of professor of medicine. He attended Edinburgh High School (1779-1783) and studied at Edinburgh University arts and law (1783-86, 1789-92). At the age of sixteen he had already started to collect old ballads, the beginning of his prodigious effort to make the stories and songs of the Scottish Border country widely available. In 1792 Scott was called to the bar. In 1799 he was appointed sheriff deputy of the county of Selkirk. Scott married Margaret Charlotte Charpentier (in 1797) daughter of Jean Charpentier of Lyon in France. They had five children.

The first publication to bear his own name was his translation of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's play, Goetz von Berlichingen (1799). In 1802-03 appeared Scott's first major work, Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border. As a poet Scott became came into his own with the publication of The Lay of the Last Minstrel (1805) about an old border country legend. His immensely popular Marmion followed in 1808. Scott's narrative poetry, including The Lady of the Lake in 1810, made him world famous. But within a few years his poetic reputation began to be outshone in the public eye by Byron's compelling genius. Scott thus turned to fiction as alternate path for his prodigious literary energies.

The first of his novels, Waverley, re-doubled his popularity. No less an authority than Jane Austen recognized its success: "Walter Scott has no business to write novels," she said, "especially good ones. It is not fair. He has fame and profit enough as a poet, and should not be taking the bread out of the mouths of other people." Scott continued to publish a whole series of what came to be known as "The Waverly Novels" as well as many other works. In addition to Waverley itself, his best novels include Old Mortality, 1816, Rob Roy, 1817, The Heart Of Midlothia, 1818, The Bride Of Lammermoor, 1819.

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Novelists of Victorian Literature The Bronte Sisters George Eliot Charles Dickens Thomas Hardy Sir Walter Scott images texts critiques	Sir Walter Scott 1771 - 1832 Walter Scott was born in Edinburgh, as the son of a solicitor Walter Scott and Anne, a daughter of professor of medicine. He attended Edinburgh High School (1779-1783) and studied at Edinburgh University arts and law (1783-86, 1789-92). At the age of sixteen he had already started to collect old ballads, the beginning of his prodigious effort to make the stories and songs of the Scottish Border country widely available. In 1792 Scott was called to the bar. In 1799 he was appointed sheriff deputy of the county of Selkirk. Scott married Margaret Charlotte Charpentier (in 1797) daughter of Jean Charpentier of Lyon in France. They had five children. The first publication to bear his own name was his translation of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's play, Goetz von Berlichingen (1799). In 1802-03 appeared Scott's first major work, Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border. As a poet Scott became came into his own with the publication of The Lay of the Last Minstrel (1805) about an old border country legend. His immensely popular Marmion followed in 1808. Scott's narrative poetry, including The Lady of the Lake in 1810, made him world famous. But within a few years his poetic reputation began to be outshone in the public eye by Byron's compelling genius. Scott thus turned to fiction as alternate path for his prodigious literary energies. The first of his novels, Waverley, re-doubled his popularity. No less an authority than Jane Austen recognized its success: "Walter Scott has no business to write novels," she said, "especially good ones. It is not fair. He has fame and profit enough as a poet, and should not be taking the bread out of the mouths of other people." Scott continued to publish a whole series of what came to be known as "The Waverly Novels" as well as many other works. In addition to Waverley itself, his best novels include Old Mortality, 1816, Rob Roy, 1817, The Heart Of Midlothia, 1818, The Bride Of Lammermoor, 1819. View the Sir Walter Scott image gallery Browse the Sir Walter Scott texts Read the Sir Walter Scott critiques
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