Sir Walter Scott, the greatest of them all.

Summary of the Talk:

Eric Milligan, former Lord Provost of Edinburgh and long-serving Labour councillor, gave a wide-ranging and impassioned talk on the lasting impact of Sir Walter Scott. Drawing from his personal experiences and civic roles, Milligan charted Scott’s monumental influence on the city of Edinburgh, Scottish identity, literature, and wider global culture.

Key Themes:

• Scott’s Imprint on Edinburgh: Milligan detailed how Scott’s presence is woven into the fabric of Edinburgh, from the towering Scott Monument (once the tallest monument to a literary figure in the world), to Waverley Station, public houses, swimming clubs, football teams (e.g., Heart of Midlothian), and Masonic connections. Scott’s literary and civic contributions helped shape the identity and iconography of the city.
• Civic and Cultural Legacy: Scott played a vital role in cultural initiatives, such as the founding of the Edinburgh Academy and Mechanics Institutes, which aimed to spread education to working-class artisans. His involvement in orchestrating George IV’s visit to Scotland was pivotal in shaping Scottish national imagery and Highland romanticism.
• Burns and Scott: Milligan passionately addressed Scott’s admiration for Robert Burns. He credited Scott with institutionalising the Burns Supper tradition and promoting Burns’s legacy alongside his own. Anecdotes included the first-ever meeting between Scott and Burns as a boy and how Scott helped elevate Burns’s status.
• International Reach: Milligan spoke movingly about how Scott’s influence reached far beyond Scotland, including his visit to Dublin in 1825 and a profound cultural influence in America. John F. Kennedy, for example, read Ivanhoe as a boy and was deeply inspired by Scott’s ideals of honour and chivalry.
• The Founding of the Walter Scott Club: The Edinburgh Sir Walter Scott Club was formed in 1894 in response to the abundance of Burns Clubs and the relative neglect of Scott’s legacy. Its founders emphasised Scott’s integrity, patriotism, and literary genius.
• Scott and UNESCO: Milligan recounted his own role in Edinburgh’s successful designation as the world’s first UNESCO City of Literature in 2004—an initiative partly inspired by his desire to showcase the literary heritage of figures like Scott and Stevenson in his own Lord Provost’s office.
• Scott’s Personal Character: Milligan also reflected on Scott’s fall into bankruptcy in 1826 and praised his extraordinary resolve to repay his debts through literary labour—his famous vow: “This right hand shall work it all off.”

Interesting Highlights:

• Monument Before Castle: Milligan pointed out that even William McGonagall—Edinburgh’s famously bad poet—praised Scott’s Monument above the Castle in a poem, suggesting how central Scott had become to the city’s identity.
• Scott’s Masonic Ties: He was initiated into Lodge St David, University Lodge No. 36 in Edinburgh, and is still honoured annually by the Lodge.
• Scott and Ireland: His only visit to Ireland in 1825 left a strong impression. He bought books on Irish history, became a freeman of Cork, and was warmly received—though his opinions on the Irish were characteristically complex.
• Jane Austen’s Jealous Praise: Austen once quipped that it was “not fair” for Scott to be such a good novelist when he was already so successful as a poet.
• Kennedy and Scott: JFK’s childhood admiration for Scott and Stevenson was deeply formative. After his assassination, Jackie Kennedy paid tribute to the role British literature—especially Scott’s—played in shaping the President.
• French Recognition: Milligan shared colourful anecdotes of French honours he received, notably from Jacques Chirac, in recognition of cultural ties between France and Scotland.
• Robert Louis Stevenson’s Statue Campaign: Milligan tried (unsuccessfully) to get a statue of Stevenson placed in Central Park, New York, beside Scott and Burns—both of whom are commemorated there.