The Abbot by Walter Scott

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The Abbot by Walter Scott

The course of life to which Mary and her little retinue were doomed, was in the last degree secluded and lonely, varied only as the weather permitted or rendered impossible the Queen's usual walk in the garden, or on the battlements. -from The Abbot They were the literary phenomenon of their time: The Waverly novels, 48 volumes set in fanciful re-creations of the Scottish Highlands (and other lands) of centuries past, published between 1814 and 1831 and devoured by a reading public hungry for these sweeping, interconnected melodramas. The series popularized historical fiction, though they're also abundant in astute political and social commentary. The Abbot, Volume 21 of Waverly, follows directly on from The Monastery (Vol. 18) and features a vividly depicted Mary Queen of Scots during the time of her imprisonment at Lochleven Castle. Scottish novelist and poet SIR WALTER SCOT (1771-1832), a literary hero of his native land, turned to writing only when his law practice and printing business foundered. Among his most beloved works are The Lady of the Lake (1810), Rob Roy (1818), and Ivanhoe (Waverly Vols. 16 and 17) (1820).
The volumes have been carefully and critically edited from the original manuscripts and now the texts, which in each case capture large numbers of readings never before printed and clear away elements of corruption in existing editions, are as close to what Scott originally wrote as the skills of the editorial team can make themIt is a pleasure to acknowledge the appearance of two more volumes in the new critical Edinburgh Edition of the Waverley Novels ! both volumes are truly impressive jobs of scholarly editing, and they are handsomely designed and printed. Christopher Johnson, who works in the House of Lords, has produced a magisterial edition of the neglected novel as part of the Edinburgh Edition of the Waverley Novels ! In short, this addition to The Edinburgh Edition of the Waverley Novels is remarkable value. Christopher Johnson's edition of The Abbot should be in every library collecting material on the great Sir Walter Scott and on Scottish-English relationships. Highly recommended. -- Professor William Baker, Northern Illinois University The Edinburgh Edition respects Scott the artist by 'restoring' versions of the novels that are not quite what his first readers saw. Indeed, it returns to manuscripts that the printers never handled, as Scott's fiction before 1827 was transcribed before it reached the printshop. Each volume of the Edinburgh edition presents an uncluttered text of one work, followed by an Essay on the Text by the editor of the work, a list of the emendations that have been made to the first edition, explanatory notes and a glossary ! The editorial essays are histories of the respective texts. Some of them are almost 100 pages long; when they are put together they constitute a fascinating and lucid account of Scott's methods of composition and his financial manoeuvres. This edition is for anyone who takes Scott seriously. The volumes have been carefully and critically edited from the original manuscripts and now the texts, which in each case capture large numbers of readings never before printed and clear away elements of corruption in existing editions, are as close to what Scott originally wrote as the skills of the editorial team can make them. It is a pleasure to acknowledge the appearance of two more volumes in the new critical Edinburgh Edition of the Waverley Novels ! both volumes are truly impressive jobs of scholarly editing, and they are handsomely designed and printed. Christopher Johnson, who works in the House of Lords, has produced a magisterial edition of the neglected novel as part of the Edinburgh Edition of the Waverley Novels ! In short, this addition to The Edinburgh Edition of the Waverley Novels is remarkable value. Christopher Johnson's edition of The Abbot should be in every library collecting material on the great Sir Walter Scott and on Scottish-English relationships. Highly recommended. The Edinburgh Edition respects Scott the artist by 'restoring' versions of the novels that are not quite what his first readers saw. Indeed, it returns to manuscripts that the printers never handled, as Scott's fiction before 1827 was transcribed before it reached the printshop. Each volume of the Edinburgh edition presents an uncluttered text of one work, followed by an Essay on the Text by the editor of the work, a list of the emendations that have been made to the first edition, explanatory notes and a glossary ! The editorial essays are histories of the respective texts. Some of them are almost 100 pages long; when they are put together they constitute a fascinating and lucid account of Scott's methods of composition and his financial manoeuvres. This edition is for anyone who takes Scott seriously.
Sir Walter Scott, was a Scottish historical novelist, playwright and poet. Many of his works remain classics and include Ivanhoe, Rob Roy, Waverley, The Heart of Midlothian and The Bride of Lammermoor.
SKU Unavailable
ISBN 13 9780748605750
ISBN 10 0748605754
Title The Abbot
Author Walter Scott
Series Edinburgh Edition Of The Waverley Novels
Condition Unavailable
Binding Type Hardback
Publisher Edinburgh University Press
Year published 2000-03-24
Number of pages 554
Cover note Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.