Marmion 

Read by Edward Hocknell

I have chosen this passage as it introduces the Abbess and Sister Clare on their voyage from Whitby to St Cuthbert's Isle. It illustrates Scott's essentially humorous attitude to character; and his dry wit, which is amusingly at odds with the rather ponderous content.

Edward Hocknell is an Edinburgh-based cultural historian and literary enthusiast known for his work on Scottish heritage, literature and public engagement. He has contributed to cultural organisations, lectures and community history projects, helping promote Scottish literary and historical scholarship.

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