Peveril of the Peak 

Read by Lee A. Simpson

In this passage Bridgenorth uses language that reflects his own time and which we would now find inappropriate today.

Back in 1995 I felt like I was living in a vacuous world... and was in need of something of substance to cling on to. A peculiar incident put a copy of Peveril of the Peak into my hands (full story see below).  I took it as a sign... It was hard work, and many times I had to re-read a passage just to get the gist of it. But, I was determined and pushed on. Once I got past chapter 7 (as with most Scott books -- except Kenilworth) I really started to engage with the characters and loved the style of dialogue.

Now, almost 30 years later I must have read the book at least a dozen times..   I like how each time I return to it I find new things to relate to. It never fails to satisfy.

I have chosen this passage because it is a rather neat self-contain story within the book. I feel that Bridgenorth (the Puritan) was telling it as part of an attempt to politically subvert Julian Peveril (the Cavalier's son). Julian had unwitting given Bridgenorth a sympathetic ear as he is secretly in love with his daughter -- but, little does he realise how much of a fanatic he really is, as the hero of this passage is actually wanted for Regicide!

This recording was done in one-take and from memory.

March 2024.

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] 

Alternative Recording...

A Supernatural Tale (A True One, Too)

Back in 1995, when I was 24, I got a job through a friend in a small firm. Not long afterwards, the same friend recommended another person for a role there. Sadly, he turned out to be a complete idiot — upsetting everyone in his team, and even the owner of the business.

One morning, I arrived to find a management book left on my desk. A piece of paper marked a page, with the words "Who is this?" scrawled across it. The page described the kind of person you don’t want in your office — someone who stamps their feet to get their own way, blames others for mistakes, and so on. It was clear the owner wanted me to name the person causing all the trouble. But I couldn’t. The same friend had introduced us both to the company.

So instead, I wrote: Walter Scott?

I’d never knowingly read Scott before. In fact, my education had been poor — by that point I’d only read one novel in my life, back when I was 16. But Walter Scott had the same initials as the rogue employee. It felt apt. A name with weight. A way of answering without naming.

That very same day, during my usual lunchtime wander, I walked to a charity shop in Cheadle village to kill some time (near where I was working). I often looked for shirts or peculiar old books. That day, they’d just taken a fresh delivery — books were crammed onto every one of the four or five shelves. I reached in to wriggle one free, and an old volume fell from the other end. A Nelson’s Pocket Edition of Peveril of the Peak by Sir Walter Scott.

I took it as a sign. That it was meant for me.

It was bloody hard to read. I struggled with every line, re-reading each passage until it made sense. But I was determined. It was the medicine I’d needed after a vacuous upbringing.

Three years later, in 1998, I transferred to Edinburgh with a new company. As soon as I arrived, I sought out the Scott Club. At a meeting, I casually mentioned I’d been collecting odd copies of Scott’s novels and still had a few gaps. Word must have got back to the Fraser Elgin the then Secretary — he wrote to say he could help.

I ignored him. Thought he was some Earl or something.

But when I paid my subs in 2001 he wrote again asking to meet. He had an old set he no longer needed — but in return, he wanted me to become the Treasurer.

A role I still hold, some 25 years later.

As for the upstart in the small firm — even after I’d quietly named him, he kept causing mayhem. A few months later, he sued the company for thousands in an unfair dismissal claim. I believe he’s now the owner of some sports team in the States.