He put his immense literary talents to industrious work - until, once again, his family was very comfortable. His wife and kids, when he died, were now set for life. The Wikipedia article for this book describes part of the plot as " In between hours in the library with Die, he converses with Andrew Fairservice and learns much about goings on at the Hall."

Rob Roy - είναι ο γιος ενός εμπόρου, απόγονος μιας αριστοκρατικής καθολικής οικογένειας - αν και ο ίδιος είναι προτεστάντης. Μετά από χρόνια σπουδών καλείται να αναλάβει την οικογενειακή επιχείρηση αλλά η ρομαντική ψυχή του τον κάνει να βλέπει με αποστροφή το ενδεχόμενο να περάσει την υπόλοιπη ζωή του μέσα σε αριθμούς και αρνείται αυτή τη θέση πιστεύοντας ότι μπορεί να κάνει μία καριέρα στη λογοτεχνία και την ποίηση. Ο πατέρας του πιστεύοντας ότι αυτή είναι απλά μία παρόρμηση τον στέλνει να περάσει λίγο καιρό με την οικογένεια του αδερφού του στη Βόρεια Αγγλία, όπου εκεί είναι όλα το αντίθετο από ότι έχει συνηθίσει. Από το πολύβουο Λονδίνο του εμπορίου και της προτεσταντικής αυστηρότητας μεταφέρεται στην ήσυχη επαρχία που κυριαρχείται από λιγότερο χρήσιμες ασχολίες όπως το κυνήγι, την χαλαρή διάθεση και τους ρυθμούς της παλιάς θρησκείας. Εκεί συναντάει δύο ανθρώπους που η συνεισφορά τους θα αποδειχθεί καθοριστική στη συνέχεια: την όμορφη, γοητευτική, πνευματώδη και συναρπαστική Diana - καθόλου τυχαία η επιλογή του ονόματος - και τον ευφυή, φιλόδοξο και ιδιαίτερα ύποπτο ξάδερφό του. Η αντισυμβατική Diana που συνδυάζει όλα τα συστατικά της γυναικείας γοητείας με ένα σχεδόν αρρενωπό πάθος κινεί το ενδιαφέρον του ήρωα μας και ο έρωτας δεν αργεί να ακολουθήσει, αυτά που τους χωρίζουν, όμως, είναι πάρα πολλά - με τα περισσότερα να πηγάζουν από την αφοσίωση της στην καθολική θρησκεία - και έτσι αυτός ο έρωτας δεν φαίνεται να έχει προοπτική, κάτι που ��ου προκαλεί μεγάλη λύπη. Αντίστοιχα του κινεί το ενδιαφέρον ο ξάδερφος του με τη βαθύτατη μόρφωσή του αλλά γρήγορα αρχίζει να υποψιάζεται ότι πίσω από αυτή τη μάσκα κρύβονται πολλά άσχημα πράγματα και αυτές οι υποψίες δεν αργούν να επιβεβαιωθούν και οι μπελάδες αρχίζουν.

This poem is an epic that, again, follows famous historical battles between Scots and Englishmen. Marmion is one of the famous Scott poems which led to his being offered the position of England's Poet Laureate in 1813, which he declined. That's because major historical events provided the skeleton to all of Scott's work. So, for those of us who might be unfamiliar with Scotland's tumultuous history, some of these conflicts with their many political and religious allegiances can be hard to follow - it's true. If anything, though, that should give you an idea of the grand scope of Scott's novels. He had his sights set on these really major events that had a big impact on his country's history. He liked important characters and sweeping action. When the cloth was removed, Mr. Jarvie compounded with his own hands a very small bowl of brandy-punch, the first which I had ever the fortune to see. Now, full disclosure: I'm certain there are two factors that influenced my enjoyment of the novel toward the positive. The conflict Ivanhoe faces is between “ancient” and “modern” fealties—not so much Norman versus Saxon or Jewish versus Christian, but humane versus inhuman. Or more simply, good versus evil. It is an imagined world striving to be modern in the face of prejudices and fantasies, virtues and vices. Jousts are fought on many levels, and despite its trials, good triumphs in the end.

Unlike many of his other works, it's set way, way in the far past - 12th century England. The story depicts a time of transition for English nobility; it centers on the few remaining noble families with Saxon heritage and the cruelty that they faced at the hands of the Norman rulers. It follows the story of title character, Ivanhoe, who's fallen out of favor with his Saxon father because of his allegiance to the Norman king and their love of the same woman - so you see again that same sort of big political issues and then more personal issues and how they can interact and contradict each other.

Success!

Scott began his writing career as a poet. Influenced by the popular style of the time, Sir Walter Scott's poems are mostly epics. Scott was trained in the classics, and many of his poems make good use of the epic and ballad forms and tropes. When Walter Scott’s sixth novel, Rob Roy, was published on December 30, 1817, it was a phenomenal success. By early January of the following year, a total of 10,000 copies had been printed and sold as the first, second, and third editions; a fourth edition, of 3,000 more, was printed by January 21. The novel was sent to London and Ireland and sold throughout Scotland. Glasgow seems to have proved a particularly fruitful market. 1 American editions were published in New York and Philadelphia in 1818 and the novel was translated into French, German, and Hungarian. 2 It was also adapted into chapbook, comic, and stage versions. 3 Rob Roy represents the anonymous “Author of Waverley” at the height of his fame. And yet, two hundred years on, we might ask if the work still has value for modern readers. As Scott’s novel concerns itself with the benefits and virtues of a globalized economy, and the risks we run if we ignore those who are excluded from it, I consider the answer to be a resounding yes. Despite having polio early, conflicts in his teens with his lawyer father, romantic rejection in his 20s (moving on to marry Charlotte Carpenter, who bore him five children, the first dying soon after birth) and near financial ruin in his 50s, Scott proved an energetic translator, poet and novelist. His first significant original work, The Lay of the Last Minstrel (1805), began his series of narrative poems focusing on events and settings from Scottish history. Rob Roy shows up about half way through the novel, when Frank has to take a trip to Glasgow. He is the man going PSST! from behind the church pillar or the disembodied voice from the bushes, who continues to offer cryptic, incomplete advice to Frank. Scott is often seen as an ultra- romantic novelist but this was a misreading. David Daiches said “Scott’s best and characteristic novels might with justice be called anti-romantic. They attempt to show that heroic action is, in the last analysis, neither heroic nor useful”. Daiches argued that Scott’s real interest as a novelist was “in the ways in which the past impinged on the present and in the effects of that impact on human character, in the relations between tradition and progress”. These themes were best realised in the novels dealing with the Scotland of the not too distant past of the C17th and C18th, ie Waverley, Guy Mannering, The Antiquary, Old Mortality, Rob Roy, The Heart of Midlothian, The Bride of Lammermoor, A Legend of Montrose, Redgauntlet and Chronicles of the Canongate.

Like all of Scott's books, 18th century enlightenment shows it's influence and the theme of tolerance to all good people, regardless of race or religion is strong in the story. Scott was something of a righteous knight himself. Created a baronet in 1820, he nearly became insolvent during the financial crisis of 1825-26 along with his printer (Ballantyne) and his publishers (Constable, et al.). He chose not to declare bankruptcy and instead worked hard to pay his debts. Despite failing health, he continued to write new novels, as well as revise and annotate earlier ones. He also wrote a nine-volume Life of Napoleon and a four-volume history of Scotland ( Tales of a Grandfather). fantastico, ed. Carlo Bordoni; introd. Romolo Runcini (Cosenza: L. Pellegrini, 2004) 115 p. ISBN: 8881011891 It does feel like hours, even when reading. The characters discuss politics, the situation, love, life, business, etc'. At great length.Ivanhoe is the story of one of the remaining Saxon noble families at a time when the nobility in England was overwhelmingly Norman. It follows the Saxon protagonist, Wilfred of Ivanhoe, who is out of favour with his father for his allegiance to the Norman king, Richard I. The story is set in 1194, after the failure of the Third Crusade, when many of the Crusaders were still returning to their homes in Europe. Scott wrote and published these first novels anonymously, known as 'the author of Waverley', Waverley, sometimes spelled 'Waverly', being his first widely popular novel. Scott would take advantage of the success of his first novel and eventually expand it into The Waverly Series. His anonymity was not altogether so anonymous because by the time Scott came out publicly as the author of Waverly the public was not at all surprised and, in fact, placed quite the damper on his announcement. Scott became so popular for his writing that he was offered the title of England's Poet Laureate in 1813. He declined the position. Death