Folio Society Published Works Number 2462
Scott, Walter - Waverley
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Scott, Walter - Waverley (Published in by The Folio Society in 2011. Introduced by Alasdair Gray. illustrated by Ben Cain. Bound in buckram. Blocked with a design by Ben Cain. Set in New Caledonia. 528 pages. Frontispiece. 11 colour illustrations. Book Size: 9" × 6.25". His father has a political career under George II, but Edward Waverley has been brought up by his uncle – a high Tory with a sentimental yearning for the bygone days of the House of Stewart. As a young man, Waverley joins the army and is posted to Scotland in the fateful year of 1745. There, his lively and romantic spirit leads him to get to know the Highlanders that surround him: his uncle's friend the Baron of Bradwardine; the semi-brigand Donald Bean Lean; the ardent Jacobite Fergus MacIvor and his passionate, beautiful sister Flora. Such known rebels can only cause trouble for an English officer and Waverley is arrested and dismissed. After a daring escape, he joins the Jacobite army, and is soon captivated by the legendary charm of Bonnie Prince Charlie and the burning conviction of his Highland friends. But Waverley's loyalties are in hopeless conflict – where does true honour lie? Is there any course which will not require him to break faith? The uprising is an ill-fated campaign and only disillusionment and defeat can follow. The prince may make his way across the isles, but how will Waverley escape the avenging 'Butcher' Cumberland? Waverley was an instant, phenomenal success: a bestseller that drew universal praise from critics. It was, in many ways, the first true historical novel, and readers were fascinated by descriptions of the Highland culture and the interweaving of facts with fiction. It caused a surge in popularity of all things Scottish, with the Prince Regent establishing a country seat in Scotland and giving Scott responsibility for organising the first royal visit. Today, the book has lost none of its power to grip the reader with thrilling adventures, from the Battle of Prestonpans to the terrible Bodach Glas who foretells Fergus's death, and vivid characters, from young Waverley, who has to learn about love and compromise as well as honour, to the proud Highland chiefs whose entire way of life is at risk. Illustrations by Ben Cain evoke the atmosphere of excitement and romance, and Scottish novelist and artist Alasdair Gray provides a brilliant new perspective in his introduction. )
