Waverley - Book 2

I finally finished my second book of the year.  This book fulfills the 'classic' square on my book bingo challenge.

Waverley is credited as being the first historical novel in English.  It was Sir Walter Scott's first published novel.  He was already a hugely popular poet and then created this whole popular genre.  He went on to write many historical novels thereafter, which publishers have named after this first one, the Waverley series, which includes the two most famous: Rob Roy and Ivanhoe.

This story, Waverley, is basically a coming of age one.  Edward Waverley is a young man who is well meaning but has been spoiled by his indulgent uncle and aunt.  He is the heir to the great Waverley family name and estate.  He's been raised to be sympathetic to the Jacobites and their allies in the Highlands of Scotland.  The Jacobites thought King James of England and Scotland was the rightful heir to the throne.  Rebellions by those who did not accept the House of Hanover kings as true British kings had been going on for decades.  This book is based around the last rebellion in 1745 which ended in complete defeat for Bonnie Prince Charlie at the Battle of Culloden.

Waverley's father, who had broken from the Tory/Jacobite family sympathies, gets Edward a commission in the army.  But Edward is a young man unused to army ways.  He's a romantic daydreamer used to having his own way.  The first chance he gets, he takes off time from the army to visit a nearby friend of his uncle's, Baron Bradwardine and his lovely daughter Rose.  The Baron is a comical figure in that he is enamored of his Latin learning and is forever quoting Livy and other such notables, but often mangling the quote or interspersing it with a kind of Scottish brogue or French, etc.  He is a lovable pedant.  While staying here, Edward gets invited to go visit the Highlanders, a people he's heard many romantic stories about, so he goes and even winds up spending the night with a band of Highland highwaymen.  This turns out to be a very foolish thing to have done.  I won't spoil the plot but Edward is very naive and his new friends in the Highlands use him to incite trouble with the Lowlanders.  Things are brewing for the next clash between the Highlander Jacobites and the Lowland-Hanoverians.

Edward is aptly named Waverley.  He really changes his mind on a whim.  His own impulses and desire for adventure and romance lead him to make some very poor decisions.  Scott is very adept at letting the reader sympathize fully with Edward but at the same time realize how callow and young he is.  As things get more and more desperate we see Edward rising to the occasion and growing into manhood.

The plot is long and complicated.  The language in this novel is very archaic to modern readers like myself. However, I enjoyed a lot of the old fashioned language.  Scott loved to write in brogue so there is a lot that going on as well. There are references to Don Quixote here, Shakespeare, Robert Burns, Vergil, the Bible and old Scottish tales.  There is quaint poetry sprinkled throughout.  Scott often writes in a tongue in cheek manner.  This is a lively tale and I can see why it was so popular.

Jane Austen read this novel and loved it.  Here's a quote from her:

“Walter Scott has no business to write novels, 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 other people’s mouths. — I do not like him, and do not mean to like Waverley if I can help it — but fear I must.”

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