Waverley 

Read by Geoffrey C. Bond OBE

I discovered Sir Walter Scott through one of his greatest admirers the poet Lord Byron. In 1814 Scott recognised the genius of Byron the poet and decided to write novels rather than poetry. In his first novel he introduced us to Edward Waverley, an attractive young man to whom things happen. The publication of Byron's first major work Childe Harold in 1812 made him famous overnight; the publication of Waverley as one writer has put it, saw the public react with an electric shock of delight. The understanding of the education of Edward Waverley is essential to an understanding of his character. In chapter 3, Scott describes Waverley's education and his attitude to it; an attitude which is timeless and could be that of a young man of today. 

February 2010

Image used here with the permission of the [Walter Scott Digital Archive Image Collection].

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