The Heart of Mid-Lothian

Read by Brian Taylor

A nation does not truly merit the name if it has little sense of its own history and culture. Scott provides both in rich measure but, contrary to common misconception, he is hugely alert to lively, popular culture rather than merely a stilted narrative of the great and good. I believe that aspect of Scott is most clearly to the fore in The Heart of Mid-Lothian. In that wonderful work, he entangles the poignant tale of Jeanie and Effie Deans with the political history of the period. In addition, there is brilliant, subtle characterisation and strong story-telling as witnessed in the section I have chosen to read, when the sisters meet in prison. 

November 2009

Brian Taylor is a distinguished Scottish journalist and broadcaster, best known as the long-serving political editor for BBC Scotland from 1991 until his retirement in 2020. He covered Scottish and UK politics, wrote books on the Scottish Parliament and now writes as a columnist for The Herald.

Text used with permission of Edinburgh University Press [The Edinburgh Edition of the Waverley Novels]