Waverley: Of Zestig Jaar Geleden
1814
Waverley: Of Zestig Jaar Geleden
1814
Translated by M. P. (Mark Prager) Lindo
A historical novel written in the early 19th century. The likely topic of the book centers on Edward Waverley, a young Englishman whose upbringing, personal development, and allegiances become intertwined with the political and social unrest between the Jacobites and the Hanoverian government in Britain. As a work of historical fiction, the novel promises to explore themes of loyalty, identity, and the clash of old and new ways in a period marked by rebellion and change. The opening of the novel provides context for the events that inspired the story, referencing actual moments from the Jacobite uprisings and the complex interplay of honor, mercy, and animosity between opposing factions. The preface addresses the author's anonymity and discusses the intent to present an authentic portrayal of Scottish customs, defending the nuanced depiction of Highlanders. The narrative then shifts to introduce the Waverley family, with a particular focus on Edward's background: his divided family allegiances, his education marked by both privilege and disorder, and his tendency for romantic daydreaming over practical pursuits. Early chapters immerse the reader in Edward's character formation—torn between two relatives, surrounded by family history, and influenced by stories of heroism—setting the stage for how his personality and ideals will shape his journey in a tumultuous era.
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“Wounds sustained for the sake of conscience carry their own balsam with the blow.””
— Walter Scott
“No word of commiseration can make a burden feel one feather's weight lighter to the slave who must carry it.””
— Walter Scott
“In the wide pile, by others heeded not,Hers was one sacred solitary spot,Whose gloomy aisles and bending shelves containFor moral hunger food, and cures for moral pain.””
— Walter Scott
“Trade has all the fascination of gambling without its moral guilt.””
— Walter Scott
“How nearly can what we most despise and hate, approach in outward manner to that which we most venerate!””
— Walter Scott
“Honour is a homicide and a bloodspiller, that gangs about making frays in the street; but Credit is a decent honest man, that sits at hame and makes the pat play.””
— Walter Scott
“I should be rather like the wild hawk, who, barred the free exercise of his soar through heaven, will dash himself to pieces against the bars of his cage.””
— Walter Scott
“I had just time to give a glance at these matters, when about twelve blue-coated servants burst into the hall with much tumult and talk, each rather employed in directing his comrades than in discharging his own duty. Some brought blocks and billets to the fire, which roared, blazed, and ascended, half in smoke, half in flame, up a huge tunnel, with an opening wide enough to accommodate a stone seat within its ample vault, and which was fronted, by way of chimney-piece, with a huge piece of heavy architecture, where the monsters of heraldry, embodied by the art of some Northumbrian chisel, grinned and ramped in red free-stone, now japanned by the smoke of centuries. Others of these old-fashioned serving-men bore huge smoking dishes, loaded with substantial fare; others brought in cups, flagons, bottles, yea barrels of liquor. All tramped, kicked, plunged, shouldered, and jostled, doing as little service with as much tumult as could well be imagined””
— Walter Scott
“unfortunate and ill-advised James II. But””
— Walter Scott
