Chronicles of the Canongate

by Walter Scott

Overview

Chronicles of the Canongate consists of three tragic tales of cultural conflict: "The Highland Widow," "The Two Drovers," and "The Surgeon's Daughter." The first two are recognised as among the greatest of Scott's achievements; the last is his almost unknown critique of British imperialism. This is the first time since its appearance in 1827 that the work has been published in the form Scott intended, and the recovery of the original design reveals a deliberate parallelism: set in the third quarter of the eighteenth century all three tales are studies of "racial" misunderstanding.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781622360680
Publisher:	Greatest Books Publisher
Publication date:	03/31/2012
Pages:	456
Product dimensions:	7.10(w) x 10.30(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

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.

Claire Lamont is Senior Lecturer in English Literature at the University of Newcastle.

Editorial Reviews

With a judicious mixture of historical fact, seductive legend and a vivid imagination, [Scott] invented an entire country, complete with custom, tradition, genealogy, even national dress. It was a country called Scotland and, for better or for worse, we are still living in it.

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 compostion and his financial manoeuvres. This edition is for anyone who takes Scott seriously.

From the Publisher