Life of Sir Walter Scott, With Abbotsford Notanda

Prepared for the centenary of his birth, this life of Sir Walter Scott offers a commemorative portrait of Scotland's beloved novelist, tracing his story from ancestry and childhood to triumph, hardship, and death. It begins with the remarkable family lines that shaped him: Border Scots, Jacobite and Quaker connections, and a cultivated maternal heritage that helped foster his genius. Born in Edinburgh but carried early to the countryside for fragile health, Scott grew up under the spell of Sandyknow, Smailholm Tower, and the "Land of Scott," where Border history, ballads, clan memory, and rugged scenery fed his imagination. His school-boy years bring a contrast between strict classical discipline and more inspiring teachers who awakened his love of literature and history. The biography then follows his later life of immense labor, mounting debt, political anxieties, declining health, and unflagging creative effort, even after strokes and public setbacks. It closes with his final journey, death at Abbotsford, funeral through the landscapes he immortalized, and burial at Dryburgh Abbey, leaving a lasting image of a writer whose life and art made Scotland unforgettable. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.