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Tales of My Landlord #3 part 1
The Bride of Lammermoor
This is a story of national change and personal tragedy. For Lucy Ashton and Edgar Ravenswood, acts of heroism are thwarted and love is doomed by social, political and historical division. This edition restores the action to the years of uncertainty and political flux before the Union of Scotland and England in 1707, rather than after, as Scott's later revision had placed it.
For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
346 pages, Paperback
First published December 16, 1819
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About the author
Walter Scott
10.5k books2,004 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
Sir Walter Scott was a Scottish novelist, poet, historian, and biographer, widely recognized as the founder and master of the historical novel. His most celebrated works, including Waverley, Rob Roy, and Ivanhoe, helped shape not only the genre of historical fiction but also modern perceptions of Scottish culture and identity.
Born in Edinburgh in 1771, Scott was the son of a solicitor and a mother with a strong interest in literature and history. At the age of two, he contracted polio, which left him with a permanent limp. He spent much of his childhood in the Scottish Borders, where he developed a deep fascination with the region's folklore, ballads, and history. He studied at Edinburgh High School and later at the University of Edinburgh, qualifying as a lawyer in 1792. Though he worked in law for some time, his literary ambitions soon took precedence.
Scott began his literary career with translations and collections of traditional ballads, notably in his Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border. He gained early fame with narrative poems such as The Lay of the Last Minstrel and The Lady of the Lake. As the popularity of poetic storytelling declined, especially with the rise of Lord Byron, Scott turned to prose. His first novel, Waverley, published anonymously in 1814, was set during the Jacobite rising of 1745 and is considered the first true historical novel. The success of Waverley led to a long series of novels, known collectively as the Waverley Novels, which blended historical events with compelling fictional narratives.
Over the following years, Scott produced a remarkable number of novels, including Old Mortality, The Heart of Midlothian, and The Bride of Lammermoor, each contributing to the romantic image of Scotland that became popular throughout Europe. With Ivanhoe, published in 1819, he turned his attention to medieval England, broadening his appeal and confirming his status as a major literary figure. His works were not only popular in his own time but also laid the groundwork for historical fiction as a respected literary form.
Scott married Charlotte Genevieve Charpentier in 1797, and they had five children. In 1820, he was granted a baronetcy and became Sir Walter Scott. He built a grand home, Abbotsford House, near Melrose, which reflected his passion for history and the Scottish past. However, in 1825, financial disaster struck when his publishers went bankrupt. Rather than declare bankruptcy himself, Scott chose to work tirelessly to pay off the debts through his writing. He continued to produce novels and non-fiction works at a staggering pace despite declining health.
Walter Scott died in 1832, leaving behind a literary legacy that influenced generations of writers and readers. His works remain widely read and studied, and he is credited with helping to revive interest in Scottish history and culture. Abbotsford House, now a museum, stands as a monument to his life and achievements.
Sir Walter Scott was a Scottish novelist, poet, historian, and biographer, widely recognized as the founder and master of the historical novel. His most celebrated works, including Waverley, Rob Roy, and Ivanhoe, helped shape not only the genre of historical fiction but also modern perceptions of Scottish culture and identity.
Born in Edinburgh in 1771, Scott was the son of a solicitor and a mother with a strong interest in literature and history. At the age of two, he contracted polio, which left him with a permanent limp. He spent much of his childhood in the Scottish Borders, where he developed a deep fascination with the region's folklore, ballads, and history. He studied at Edinburgh High School and later at the University of Edinburgh, qualifying as a lawyer in 1792. Though he worked in law for some time, his literary ambitions soon took precedence.
Scott began his literary career with translations and collections of traditional ballads, notably in his Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border. He gained early fame with narrative poems such as The Lay of the Last Minstrel and The Lady of the Lake. As the popularity of poetic storytelling declined, especially with the rise of Lord Byron, Scott turned to prose. His first novel, Waverley, published anonymously in 1814, was set during the Jacobite rising of 1745 and is considered the first true historical novel. The success of Waverley led to a long series of novels, known collectively as the Waverley Novels, which blended historical events with compelling fictional narratives.
Over the following years, Scott produced a remarkable number of novels, including Old Mortality, The Heart of Midlothian, and The Bride of Lammermoor, each contributing to the romantic image of Scotland that became popular throughout Europe. With Ivanhoe, published in 1819, he turned his attention to medieval England, broadening his appeal and confirming his status as a major literary figure. His works were not only popular in his own time but also laid the groundwork for historical fiction as a respected literary form.
Scott married Charlotte Genevieve Charpentier in 1797, and they had five children. In 1820, he was granted a baronetcy and became Sir Walter Scott. He built a grand home, Abbotsford House, near Melrose, which reflected his passion for history and the Scottish past. However, in 1825, financial disaster struck when his publishers went bankrupt. Rather than declare bankruptcy himself, Scott chose to work tirelessly to pay off the debts through his writing. He continued to produce novels and non-fiction works at a staggering pace despite declining health.
Walter Scott died in 1832, leaving behind a literary legacy that influenced generations of writers and readers. His works remain widely read and studied, and he is credited with helping to revive interest in Scottish history and culture. Abbotsford House, now a museum, stands as a monument to his life and achievements.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 215 reviews
July 12, 2023
Around the time of the union between Scotland and England 1707, great changes are occurring in that ancient an often unhappy land of the north, rebellion is always beneath the calm surface, in uneasy Scotland. Rivalries, family blood feuds, (and just plain hate) political contests between Whigs and Tories for power, but with a polite face shown. Edgar , the son of the late Lord Ravenswood, his downfall caused by Sir William Ashton a devious lawyer or a honest man, depending on your side of the aisle, bribery was common in that era's legal courts. Of course brooding Edgar, after a few duels, seeks vengeance against the the destroyer of his family's fortune, estates and honor, he lives in a ruined , like his life, haunted (some say) castle with only one old wily servant left, Caleb Balderstone, in Wolfscrag. A tower above the pounding surf of the North Sea (always seemingly ready to collapse into the yearning waves below), in the Lammermoor Hills of the southeast part of the country. Chance can complicate situations, Edgar hunting on his small estate, saves the life of Sir William, his neighbor, and his pretty daughter Lucy, from an angry, wild bull. Why ? Family honor maybe, but that question is never answered clearly, except the fragile, meek Lucy, is fascinated by the handsome stranger, and he also feels warmth towards the alluring lady . His sworn enemy's daughter, the former Lord Ravenswood, his father had lost that title , supporting the losers, during the Glorious Revolution, would not understand either, if he were still alive. Edgar finds out from friendly, grateful, Sir William, that the deceased, had borrowed many thousands of pounds sterling, and was unable to repay him. The almost Gothic romance between Lucy and Edgar, is mostly in secret walks, (Lady Ashton, the mother, despises poor Edgar) outside the homes of the rivals, by an antiquated fountain, the site of their first inauspicious meeting. They visited blind, old, Alice, in her tiny decrepit, as much as she is, hovel, on Lucy's father's land. The woman had for many years been a valuable servant of Lord Ravenswood's, but Alice opposes the marriage between the happy couple... she predicts disaster in the future (uneducated people have accused her, of being a witch). When the old woman dies , Edgar sees her apparition , and is very shaken. Witches, unknown things felt, or thought seen in the woods, rumors of the supernatural are spoken in the nearby village of Wolfshope ( but this is the age of the believers, in evil spirits). Lady Ashton makes arraignments in Ravenswood Castle, Edgar's former home for a more worthy husband for her young daughter, wealthy but coarse, Francis, Laird of Bucklaw. Sir William is afraid of his dominating wife and the engagement is announced, while Edgar is attending business for his rich, influential relative the Marquis, who is trying to get his land back, on the continent. Lucy has written many letters to him, as he has too, but her cruel mother has not let them pass . Will Edgar come back before it is too late?...A popular Opera, was made from this novel. One of Scott's best books....based loosely on historical events.
June 21, 2020
This is an impressive work, one that can be enjoyed by fans of the historical novel, the gothic novel and the novel of ethnic character--provided they accept "The Bride" as a not completely effective fusion of the three and are willing to adjust their expectations accordingly.
The essential plot--the story of the dispossessed Master of Ravenswood (now living on top of a promontory overlooking the sea in a half-ruined castle) and how he falls in love with the daughter of his mortal enemy, eventually leading to madness and murder and the fulfillment of an ancient family prophecy--is fiercely romantic, as are Scott's descriptions of the castle of Wolf's Crag and the surrounding countryside. At the same time, the starkness of this wild gothic tale is illuminated and qualified by a rich political context and lightened considerably in tone by humorous Scots stereotypes--particularly that of Ravenswood's faithful majordomo Caleb. I found the resulting hybrid both unique and effective. (Although I must admit I could have done with a little less Caleb. Okay, I admit it: a lot less Caleb).
Also . . . I believe--correct me if I'm wrong--that this is the finest novel ever written during a series of debilitating gall bladder attacks.
August 16, 2007
Seriously gothic fans, listen up: This is your ultimate indulgence. This is ridiculously over the top. The characters actually swish their cloaks and make dark, portentous pronouncements. Wolves really howl at the moon, the dudes really live in broken down castles. Ladies go mad! Men lose their inheritance and swear revenge! Old family feuds! Star crossed lovers! (Though let's note about that that they make no sense and the hero seems to be more 'Eh, well, she's a chick, she loves me. I'm pretty cool, I should have known that would happen. I am therefore obligated to love her in return! Point of honor!') This book is ridiculous. I laughed at it for half of it and loved it for the rest. It also spawned an opera called Lucia di Lammermoor, for those inclined in that direction. The mad scene there is beautiful.
This was a surprisingly good time!
This was a surprisingly good time!
August 21, 2008
I read this book after working on the opera based on it which, it turns out, has relatively little to do with the novel after all. While the opera is boiled down to the story of two star-crossed lovers, the novel puts the lovers on the back-burner, preferring to concentrate its focus on creating a record of Scottish politics and daily life at the turn of the 18th century. This is evident in the care and detail Scott devotes to describing, say, hospitality rituals, about which he goes on and on. Contrasted to the very quick, to-the-point passages about the lovers themselves (including a resolution that, compared to the rest of the novel, moves at a lightning pace) it is very clear what the true intention here is.
For all that, it is a beautiful novel, in turns haunting and witty, and fascinating as a history piece. I highly suggest an annotated version, as Scott largely assumes the reader has at least a survey knowledge of Scottish Union politics, and large passages are written in thick 18th century Scottish dialect which, unless you're familiar with it, can be completely confounding.
For all that, it is a beautiful novel, in turns haunting and witty, and fascinating as a history piece. I highly suggest an annotated version, as Scott largely assumes the reader has at least a survey knowledge of Scottish Union politics, and large passages are written in thick 18th century Scottish dialect which, unless you're familiar with it, can be completely confounding.
August 27, 2010
“The Bride of Lammermoor“is surprisingly funny. It’s about two Scottish families who, through the centuries, fight over the same fortune and land holdings. One family wrests it away from the other branch and a century or so later another grabs it back and so on. As the book opens Lord Ravenswood has just lost his father and his fortune. It’s reverted back to the Ashton’s. In his anguish Ravenswood decides to go back to the house he grew up in and confront Ashton but along the way some wayward cows get in the way and he not only doesn’t kill Ashton but he saves his life and that of his beautiful daughter. Of course love blossoms a la Romeo and Juliet until Ashton’s stalwart lady, a member of the famed Douglas clan, stomps it out.
I’ve tried to read at least two other Walter Scott books and failed so I was thrilled with how much fun this one was. The interactions between the Lord and his long suffering, loyal servant Caleb Balderstone were priceless. The third section of the book is very sad however. Donizetti’s opera of the same name is based on that section.
I’ve tried to read at least two other Walter Scott books and failed so I was thrilled with how much fun this one was. The interactions between the Lord and his long suffering, loyal servant Caleb Balderstone were priceless. The third section of the book is very sad however. Donizetti’s opera of the same name is based on that section.
July 24, 2020
My second read of this story based on a true story where the bride went insane and stabbed the bridegroom on the wedding night. This tragedy has also been made into a opera.
The novel starts with the death of Lord Ravenswood and there now being only one member of the Ravenswood family left, is Master Edgar Ravenswood living in a ruin beside the sea called Wolf’s Crag a derelict castle. Edgar has lost everything and swears vengeance on the Ashton family who have taken over his fathers estate.
The Ravenswood family has lost their lands and fortune after the rebellion. Sir William Ashton is the new owner of the estates and Ravenswood Castle. He is Edgars sworn enemy and he has vowed revenge. On the day he was going to get his revenge he instead ends up saving his life and the beautiful daughter Lucy Ashton from a wild bull.
He and Lucy fall in love. The father encourages it as he fears Edgar. They become secretly engaged. However, Lucy’s mother Lady Ashton will have none of it. She is the true villain f the piece. Instead of the feud ending the mother dominates the daughter who is weaker and ends up in despair and melancholy as she has promised Edgar to marry him.
Throw in a few witches, intrigue and the parents forcing Lucy to renounce her engagement and to marry the unlucky Bucklaw. This quote sums up the story.
“When the last Laird of Ravenswood to Ravenswood shall ride and woo a dead maiden to be his bride, He shall stable his steed in the Kelpie’s flow, And his name shall be lost for evermore!”
I enjoyed this story and the sword duel and the descriptive scenes. Of course Caleb Balderstone the loyal butler for Edgar provides comical relief, albeit stereotypical. The true villain of the piece is Lady Ashton.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...
The novel starts with the death of Lord Ravenswood and there now being only one member of the Ravenswood family left, is Master Edgar Ravenswood living in a ruin beside the sea called Wolf’s Crag a derelict castle. Edgar has lost everything and swears vengeance on the Ashton family who have taken over his fathers estate.
The Ravenswood family has lost their lands and fortune after the rebellion. Sir William Ashton is the new owner of the estates and Ravenswood Castle. He is Edgars sworn enemy and he has vowed revenge. On the day he was going to get his revenge he instead ends up saving his life and the beautiful daughter Lucy Ashton from a wild bull.
He and Lucy fall in love. The father encourages it as he fears Edgar. They become secretly engaged. However, Lucy’s mother Lady Ashton will have none of it. She is the true villain f the piece. Instead of the feud ending the mother dominates the daughter who is weaker and ends up in despair and melancholy as she has promised Edgar to marry him.
Throw in a few witches, intrigue and the parents forcing Lucy to renounce her engagement and to marry the unlucky Bucklaw. This quote sums up the story.
“When the last Laird of Ravenswood to Ravenswood shall ride and woo a dead maiden to be his bride, He shall stable his steed in the Kelpie’s flow, And his name shall be lost for evermore!”
I enjoyed this story and the sword duel and the descriptive scenes. Of course Caleb Balderstone the loyal butler for Edgar provides comical relief, albeit stereotypical. The true villain of the piece is Lady Ashton.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 18, 2023
É sempre um prazer revisitar este autor clássico, considerado o pai do romance histórico, mas desta vez o prazer foi ainda maior. Isto porque comparando com as obras de Walter Scott já lidas (Ivanhoe, Waverley e O Talismã) esta ficou como minha preferida das quatro.
Aliada aos elementos já esperados, de aventuras, valentes cavaleiros, famílias brasonadas em castelos na Escócia, duelos e questões de honra, deparei-me com uma formidável mas trágica história de amor, envolta em misticismo, lendas e premonições fatais.
A acrescentar aos aspectos curiosos e interessantes desta história está o facto de Walter Scott se ter inspirado numa história verídica. A história é a da nobre escocesa Janet Dalrymple que casou a 24 de Agosto de 1669, tendo a sua noite de núpcias ficado marcada por circunstâncias trágicas e inexplicáveis. Estes acontecimentos alimentaram a imaginação de Walter Scott mas não só. Janet, filha do visconde de Stair, fundador de uma das mais famosas famílias da nobreza escocesa, família (e toda a sua descendência) que é lugubremente cantada nas lendas e baladas da velha Escócia, como possuídos do poder diabolico.
Existe ainda a particularidade de Walter Scott não ter escrito este texto, mas tê-lo ditado, por se encontrar doente e vítima de dores atrozes. O texto desta edição está escrito de forma muito simples e a história é contada muito rapidamente. Contudo, não me posso pronunciar sobre a escrita deste livro, uma vez que por experiência com outras obras, sei que as traduções das edições Romano Torres são bastante livres e simplificadas em relação aos originais.
Tendo lido até hoje Walter Scott apenas nestas edições não me posso pronunciar sobre a escrita do autor, nem comparar entre esta história que foi por ele "ditada" e as outras que foram por ele "escritas". Espero que "o meu próximo Walter Scott" possa ser lido numa melhor edição, mais fiel ao original, ou quem sabe na língua original.
Aliada aos elementos já esperados, de aventuras, valentes cavaleiros, famílias brasonadas em castelos na Escócia, duelos e questões de honra, deparei-me com uma formidável mas trágica história de amor, envolta em misticismo, lendas e premonições fatais.
A acrescentar aos aspectos curiosos e interessantes desta história está o facto de Walter Scott se ter inspirado numa história verídica. A história é a da nobre escocesa Janet Dalrymple que casou a 24 de Agosto de 1669, tendo a sua noite de núpcias ficado marcada por circunstâncias trágicas e inexplicáveis. Estes acontecimentos alimentaram a imaginação de Walter Scott mas não só. Janet, filha do visconde de Stair, fundador de uma das mais famosas famílias da nobreza escocesa, família (e toda a sua descendência) que é lugubremente cantada nas lendas e baladas da velha Escócia, como possuídos do poder diabolico.
Existe ainda a particularidade de Walter Scott não ter escrito este texto, mas tê-lo ditado, por se encontrar doente e vítima de dores atrozes. O texto desta edição está escrito de forma muito simples e a história é contada muito rapidamente. Contudo, não me posso pronunciar sobre a escrita deste livro, uma vez que por experiência com outras obras, sei que as traduções das edições Romano Torres são bastante livres e simplificadas em relação aos originais.
Tendo lido até hoje Walter Scott apenas nestas edições não me posso pronunciar sobre a escrita do autor, nem comparar entre esta história que foi por ele "ditada" e as outras que foram por ele "escritas". Espero que "o meu próximo Walter Scott" possa ser lido numa melhor edição, mais fiel ao original, ou quem sabe na língua original.
August 26, 2013
I truly thought my whole life would pass without any Walter Scott, but I picked up this paperback for pennies at a sidewalk sale because I'm drawn to old paperbacks. There it sat along with all my other sidewalk sale finds until I reread Madame Bovary, which contains a scene in which Emma and Charles Bovary attend a performance of Donizetti's opera Lucia di Lammermoor, which is loosely based on this novel. (Another novel whose occupants attend this opera is Where Angels Fear to Tread.) So then I watched, or half-watched, half-listened, to the opera on Youtube, and decided to read the book.
I was expecting this to be all doom and gloom and drama, but au contraire, the mood constantly shifts back and forth from that to comedy. There are parts that are extremely funny. These are the parts not having to do with hags, sibyls, and apparitions, which I could frankly do without.
From the back of my edition: "John Buchan considered it the most perfect of his novels 'in one way...for the sense of marching fatality is unbroken by any awkwardness of invention, or languor of narration'; and even the scenery had taken a less inanimate part and become like 'Egdon Heath in Mr. Hardy's The Return of the Native, almost a protagonist in the tale.'
February 11, 2019
NOPE. Because I love myself too much to subject my poor leisure-reading brain to this interminable, meandering mess of endless verbiage.
Back when I was in school I had to force myself through unreadable and/or mind-numbingly dense books, whether "classics" or "postmodern" or Virginia Woolf, whatever labels you like, depending on the genre or course -- but that was then. Now, I'm an adult. I can eat cookies before dinner (one, or two, or ten cookies... [/Seinfeld]), I can watch baseball ALL NIGHT LONG, & I don't have to finish boring classics if I don't wanna. So take that, Sir Walter. >:P (And if the author himself thought his book to be abominable dreck, why should I care? Clearly WS wasn't writing tongue-in-cheek like, say, Dan Ross. This wall of words has been studied, dissected, & footnoted beyond compare. Good grief.)
DNF. Otherwise I'll end up checking myself into the hospital from a brain aneurysm. That's the responsible adult thing to do, right? *pokes Lammermoor with a long stick*
Back when I was in school I had to force myself through unreadable and/or mind-numbingly dense books, whether "classics" or "postmodern" or Virginia Woolf, whatever labels you like, depending on the genre or course -- but that was then. Now, I'm an adult. I can eat cookies before dinner (one, or two, or ten cookies... [/Seinfeld]), I can watch baseball ALL NIGHT LONG, & I don't have to finish boring classics if I don't wanna. So take that, Sir Walter. >:P (And if the author himself thought his book to be abominable dreck, why should I care? Clearly WS wasn't writing tongue-in-cheek like, say, Dan Ross. This wall of words has been studied, dissected, & footnoted beyond compare. Good grief.)
DNF. Otherwise I'll end up checking myself into the hospital from a brain aneurysm. That's the responsible adult thing to do, right? *pokes Lammermoor with a long stick*
December 20, 2019
My first Walter Scott - read on the 200th anniversary of its first publication in 1819.
It would be very easy to pick this book to pieces - a too slow start and an overly rapid, abrupt ending; minor characters that hog the stage; melodrama galore - but I actually thoroughly enjoyed this magnificent page-turning potboiler. Scott has narrative skills to burn and excels in vivid settings and dramatic scenes.
It would be very easy to pick this book to pieces - a too slow start and an overly rapid, abrupt ending; minor characters that hog the stage; melodrama galore - but I actually thoroughly enjoyed this magnificent page-turning potboiler. Scott has narrative skills to burn and excels in vivid settings and dramatic scenes.
June 9, 2015
Cloaks swirl, ladies go mad, rocks fall, everyone dies. Full review coming!
April 21, 2015
Beautiful tragic romance that made me cry at the end. Scott does wander off into seemingly purposeless rambles, with extra characters who have no usefulness in the story, but I forgive him b/c the rest of the writing is so very good.
I love the characters and the story line! The writing is exactly designed to sweep one away to another world, another time.
They say that he wrote most of the book whilst he was deliriously ill by dictating to his editor/publisher Ballantyne. Maybe that accounts for some of the gaps in places where I wish he would have written more in a particular scene, and for the long rambles in other places. ha ha!
I love the characters and the story line! The writing is exactly designed to sweep one away to another world, another time.
They say that he wrote most of the book whilst he was deliriously ill by dictating to his editor/publisher Ballantyne. Maybe that accounts for some of the gaps in places where I wish he would have written more in a particular scene, and for the long rambles in other places. ha ha!
August 24, 2016
Dopo aver letto Ivanhoe, che mi aveva intrigato ma lasciata un po’ insoddisfatta, ho deciso di leggere un altro libro dell’autore scozzese, da tutti ritenuto il padre del romanzo storico. Leggendo qua e là le trame dei suoi libri – naturalmente tra quelli disponibili nella nostra lingua – ho optato per la lettura di La sposa di Lammermoor, la cui trama mi aveva molto incuriosita.
Pubblicato per la prima volta nel 1819, il libro si basa – come dichiara l’autore stesso – su fatti realmente accaduti in Scozia attorno alla metà del Seicento. Il romanzo narra la triste storia d’amore, su cui incombe una leggenda funesta, tra Lucia Ashton e Edgar Ravenswood, appartenenti a due famiglie in lotta tra loro.
Edgar è l’ultimo discendente della nobile e antica famiglia Ravenswood, caduta in disgrazia e defraudata d’ogni avere a causa dei cavilli legali e delle macchinazioni ordite da sir William Ashton, padre della giovane Lucia, con l’unico intento di appropriarsi i possedimenti della famiglia Ravenswood. Edgar durante il funerale del padre giura di vendicarsi della famiglia nemica ma quando conosce la giovane Lucia Ashton rimane colpito dalla cosiddetta freccia di cupido. Assalito da dubbi e incertezze, alla fine Edgar decide di rinunciare al suo proposito di vendetta per amore della giovane ragazza. Quando la madre di Lucia, Lady Ashton scopre la storia d’amore tra i due, temendo che Edgar voglia spogliarli dei loro averi e spinta dal suo immenso orgoglio, impiega ogni mezzo per distruggere il loro amore e combina per Lucia un matrimonio d’interesse; sul futuro dei due innamorati iniziano così a addensarsi minacciose nubi nere…
Era da un po’ che volevo leggere questo romanzo ma avevo paura che fosse pesante e lento; temevo che con questo caldo fosse un po’ difficile da leggere, invece, non è stato così; anzi tutto il contrario e in più mi ha fatto venire voglia di leggere qualche altro libro dell’autore scozzese.
La sposa di Lammermoor è un romanzo in cui vari elementi, tipici in un certo senso dell’ambiente e della cultura scozzese, si fondono tra loro; magia, leggende, castelli decadenti, apparizioni soprannaturali, mistero, vecchie megere, sono i vari fattori disseminati lungo il corso del romanzo che accompagnano il lettore durante l’evoluzione della storia d’amore tra i due giovani.
Walter Scott tratta abbastanza superficialmente e sorvola sulla nascita dei sentimenti di entrambi – anzi critica il loro comportamento – e sulla pazzia di Lucia (scelta che mi è dispiaciuta molto perché sono due caratteristiche che avrei voluto fossero più approfondite); l’amore e la pazzia, invece, sono al centro dell’opera di Gaetano Donizetti del 1835, basata sul libretto che Salvatore Cammarano ha tratto dal romanzo.
Più che raccontare la storia d’amore tra Edgar e Lucia, che rimane principalmente in secondo piano, l’autore scozzese pone al centro della vicenda la lotta tra l’antica famiglia Ravenswood e la famiglia Ashton. Scott decide di dare spazio alle vicende storico politiche della Scozia però, senza spiegarle e approfondirle ritenendo che il lettore ne sia già a conoscenza. La scelta di narrare un amore contrastato dalla faida di due famiglie, ha come scopo quello di rappresentare il contrasto in atto in quel periodo tra la classe borghese da una parte e quella nobile dall’altra (emblema della situazione politico-sociale scozzese dell’epoca), ed esporre la nascita e l’affermazione della nuova classe politica scozzese, da molti ritenuta infida, che guarda al proprio interesse e schiaccia l’antica nobiltà feudale.
Vicenda che in molteplici punti mi ha ricordato la trama di Romeo e Giulietta e del Macbeth di Shakespeare, La sposa di Lammermoor è un romanzo poco descrittivo soprattutto nelle esposizioni paesaggistiche, però in certi punti ha una componente comica molto piacevole che alleggerisce la narrazione.
Come avevo già riscontrato nel suo romanzo più famoso, Ivanhoe, il personaggio che dal titolo al libro è quello che rimane più in ombra. Lucia, infatti, appare pochissimo; è descritta come una giovane fanciulla dai connotati angelici (capelli biondi e occhi azzurri), immagine vivente della bellezza e dell’innocenza, non dialoga quasi mai e mostra poco spessore. Eroina tragica, che accetta di obbedire al volere dei genitori nonostante sia innamorata dell’acerrimo nemico della sua famiglia.
Tutto l’opposto è il co-protagonista anzi il vero e proprio protagonista di questa tragedia sheakespeariana in salsa scozzese, Edgar Ravenswood. Diverso dal solito eroe romantico, è un giovane orgoglioso, coraggioso e fiero, maledetto dalle sventure e dalla malasorte, pronto a tutto per difendere l’onore della famiglia; in certi momenti ho percepito una somiglianza con Heatcliff di Emily Brontë, forse proprio per la sua sete di vendetta. All’inizio un po’ scontroso, violento e vendicativo, man mano che si approfondisce la sua conoscenza si rivela un giovane uomo amabile, buono, giusto e risoluto, disposto a rinunciare ai suoi propositi di vendetta per amore. Un personaggio che mi è piaciuto molto (me lo sono immaginato con le sembianze di Richard Armitage nei panni di Guy di Gisborne in Robin Hood *_^), pieno di fascino, che fa la miglior entrata di sempre – almeno fra quelle che ho letto finora – nella scena del fidanzamento.
Dopo aver perduto tutto Edgar, vive in una torre in rovina (tratteggiata magnificamente da Scott) a picco sul mare del mare del Nord – descritto per la maggior parte in burrasca – con gli unici due servi rimastigli fedeli; uno di questi è Caleb Balderstone, servitore eccentrico della famiglia Ravenswood da generazioni; personaggio molto divertente, che escogita infinite scuse ed espedienti (bugie, imbrogli, finti incendi e liti, bottiglie rotte e porte sbattute in faccia agli ospiti) per salvare l’onore e la reputazione della famiglia del padrone. Caleb è una figura delineata con perfezione che alleggerisce gli avvenimenti e dona al romanzo un tocco d’ironia che non guasta; inoltre le discussioni tra lui e il suo signore sono senza prezzo.
Tutt’altro personaggio si rivela Lady Ashton, madre di Lucia, la cattiva del romanzo che rimane impressa nella mente del lettore. Donna altera, perfida, manipolatrice e insensibile, comanda a bacchetta il marito, Sir William, che la teme tantissimo; non esita a rivolgersi ad una fattucchiera per distruggere il legame tra i due giovani, spingendo senza esitazione sua figlia ad annullare il fidanzamento con Edgar e obbligandola ad un matrimonio combinato; non gliene frega nulla se tutto ciò induce la figlia nell’abisso della pazzia, l’unica cosa importante per lei è salvare i propri benefici.
In generale tutti i personaggi del romanzo, sia i principali sia i secondari, sono abbozzati e corrispondo a vari cliché molto comuni (la madre cattiva, la veggente cieca, l’eroe maschile coraggioso e pronto a tutto, la fanciulla accondiscendente), caratterizzati più a livello caratteriale che a livello fisico e non approfonditi psicologicamente.
La sposa di Lammermoor è una vicenda d’amore e di morte, in cui costumi, superstizioni e leggende scozzesi, avventura, pazzia, vecchie maliarde, famiglie cadute in disgrazia, alleanze e intrighi politici, sono miscelati sapientemente e con maestria tanto da rendere la storia intrigante e piacevole.
Un romanzo dalle mille sfaccettature, delineato elegantemente, con stile e mestiere, dai toni placidi, dalla scrittura scorrevole e lineare, con momenti divertenti e allegri (come quello della corsa delle carrozze), e momenti tragici e tristi.
Non credo avrebbero tratto un’opera lirica, ormai divenuta famosissima, se The bride of Lammermoor non fosse stata una storia tragica e triste.
3*½
È un luogo ritenuto fatale alla mia famiglia,” rispose Ravenswood, “ed io ho qualche ragione per ritenerlo tale, perché è qui che per la prima volta ho veduto miss Ashton ed è qui che debbo accomiatarmi da lei per sempre.
Pubblicato per la prima volta nel 1819, il libro si basa – come dichiara l’autore stesso – su fatti realmente accaduti in Scozia attorno alla metà del Seicento. Il romanzo narra la triste storia d’amore, su cui incombe una leggenda funesta, tra Lucia Ashton e Edgar Ravenswood, appartenenti a due famiglie in lotta tra loro.
Edgar è l’ultimo discendente della nobile e antica famiglia Ravenswood, caduta in disgrazia e defraudata d’ogni avere a causa dei cavilli legali e delle macchinazioni ordite da sir William Ashton, padre della giovane Lucia, con l’unico intento di appropriarsi i possedimenti della famiglia Ravenswood. Edgar durante il funerale del padre giura di vendicarsi della famiglia nemica ma quando conosce la giovane Lucia Ashton rimane colpito dalla cosiddetta freccia di cupido. Assalito da dubbi e incertezze, alla fine Edgar decide di rinunciare al suo proposito di vendetta per amore della giovane ragazza. Quando la madre di Lucia, Lady Ashton scopre la storia d’amore tra i due, temendo che Edgar voglia spogliarli dei loro averi e spinta dal suo immenso orgoglio, impiega ogni mezzo per distruggere il loro amore e combina per Lucia un matrimonio d’interesse; sul futuro dei due innamorati iniziano così a addensarsi minacciose nubi nere…
Era da un po’ che volevo leggere questo romanzo ma avevo paura che fosse pesante e lento; temevo che con questo caldo fosse un po’ difficile da leggere, invece, non è stato così; anzi tutto il contrario e in più mi ha fatto venire voglia di leggere qualche altro libro dell’autore scozzese.
La sposa di Lammermoor è un romanzo in cui vari elementi, tipici in un certo senso dell’ambiente e della cultura scozzese, si fondono tra loro; magia, leggende, castelli decadenti, apparizioni soprannaturali, mistero, vecchie megere, sono i vari fattori disseminati lungo il corso del romanzo che accompagnano il lettore durante l’evoluzione della storia d’amore tra i due giovani.
Walter Scott tratta abbastanza superficialmente e sorvola sulla nascita dei sentimenti di entrambi – anzi critica il loro comportamento – e sulla pazzia di Lucia (scelta che mi è dispiaciuta molto perché sono due caratteristiche che avrei voluto fossero più approfondite); l’amore e la pazzia, invece, sono al centro dell’opera di Gaetano Donizetti del 1835, basata sul libretto che Salvatore Cammarano ha tratto dal romanzo.
Più che raccontare la storia d’amore tra Edgar e Lucia, che rimane principalmente in secondo piano, l’autore scozzese pone al centro della vicenda la lotta tra l’antica famiglia Ravenswood e la famiglia Ashton. Scott decide di dare spazio alle vicende storico politiche della Scozia però, senza spiegarle e approfondirle ritenendo che il lettore ne sia già a conoscenza. La scelta di narrare un amore contrastato dalla faida di due famiglie, ha come scopo quello di rappresentare il contrasto in atto in quel periodo tra la classe borghese da una parte e quella nobile dall’altra (emblema della situazione politico-sociale scozzese dell’epoca), ed esporre la nascita e l’affermazione della nuova classe politica scozzese, da molti ritenuta infida, che guarda al proprio interesse e schiaccia l’antica nobiltà feudale.
Vicenda che in molteplici punti mi ha ricordato la trama di Romeo e Giulietta e del Macbeth di Shakespeare, La sposa di Lammermoor è un romanzo poco descrittivo soprattutto nelle esposizioni paesaggistiche, però in certi punti ha una componente comica molto piacevole che alleggerisce la narrazione.
Come avevo già riscontrato nel suo romanzo più famoso, Ivanhoe, il personaggio che dal titolo al libro è quello che rimane più in ombra. Lucia, infatti, appare pochissimo; è descritta come una giovane fanciulla dai connotati angelici (capelli biondi e occhi azzurri), immagine vivente della bellezza e dell’innocenza, non dialoga quasi mai e mostra poco spessore. Eroina tragica, che accetta di obbedire al volere dei genitori nonostante sia innamorata dell’acerrimo nemico della sua famiglia.
Tutto l’opposto è il co-protagonista anzi il vero e proprio protagonista di questa tragedia sheakespeariana in salsa scozzese, Edgar Ravenswood. Diverso dal solito eroe romantico, è un giovane orgoglioso, coraggioso e fiero, maledetto dalle sventure e dalla malasorte, pronto a tutto per difendere l’onore della famiglia; in certi momenti ho percepito una somiglianza con Heatcliff di Emily Brontë, forse proprio per la sua sete di vendetta. All’inizio un po’ scontroso, violento e vendicativo, man mano che si approfondisce la sua conoscenza si rivela un giovane uomo amabile, buono, giusto e risoluto, disposto a rinunciare ai suoi propositi di vendetta per amore. Un personaggio che mi è piaciuto molto (me lo sono immaginato con le sembianze di Richard Armitage nei panni di Guy di Gisborne in Robin Hood *_^), pieno di fascino, che fa la miglior entrata di sempre – almeno fra quelle che ho letto finora – nella scena del fidanzamento.
Dopo aver perduto tutto Edgar, vive in una torre in rovina (tratteggiata magnificamente da Scott) a picco sul mare del mare del Nord – descritto per la maggior parte in burrasca – con gli unici due servi rimastigli fedeli; uno di questi è Caleb Balderstone, servitore eccentrico della famiglia Ravenswood da generazioni; personaggio molto divertente, che escogita infinite scuse ed espedienti (bugie, imbrogli, finti incendi e liti, bottiglie rotte e porte sbattute in faccia agli ospiti) per salvare l’onore e la reputazione della famiglia del padrone. Caleb è una figura delineata con perfezione che alleggerisce gli avvenimenti e dona al romanzo un tocco d’ironia che non guasta; inoltre le discussioni tra lui e il suo signore sono senza prezzo.
Tutt’altro personaggio si rivela Lady Ashton, madre di Lucia, la cattiva del romanzo che rimane impressa nella mente del lettore. Donna altera, perfida, manipolatrice e insensibile, comanda a bacchetta il marito, Sir William, che la teme tantissimo; non esita a rivolgersi ad una fattucchiera per distruggere il legame tra i due giovani, spingendo senza esitazione sua figlia ad annullare il fidanzamento con Edgar e obbligandola ad un matrimonio combinato; non gliene frega nulla se tutto ciò induce la figlia nell’abisso della pazzia, l’unica cosa importante per lei è salvare i propri benefici.
In generale tutti i personaggi del romanzo, sia i principali sia i secondari, sono abbozzati e corrispondo a vari cliché molto comuni (la madre cattiva, la veggente cieca, l’eroe maschile coraggioso e pronto a tutto, la fanciulla accondiscendente), caratterizzati più a livello caratteriale che a livello fisico e non approfonditi psicologicamente.
La sposa di Lammermoor è una vicenda d’amore e di morte, in cui costumi, superstizioni e leggende scozzesi, avventura, pazzia, vecchie maliarde, famiglie cadute in disgrazia, alleanze e intrighi politici, sono miscelati sapientemente e con maestria tanto da rendere la storia intrigante e piacevole.
Un romanzo dalle mille sfaccettature, delineato elegantemente, con stile e mestiere, dai toni placidi, dalla scrittura scorrevole e lineare, con momenti divertenti e allegri (come quello della corsa delle carrozze), e momenti tragici e tristi.
Non credo avrebbero tratto un’opera lirica, ormai divenuta famosissima, se The bride of Lammermoor non fosse stata una storia tragica e triste.
3*½
È un luogo ritenuto fatale alla mia famiglia,” rispose Ravenswood, “ed io ho qualche ragione per ritenerlo tale, perché è qui che per la prima volta ho veduto miss Ashton ed è qui che debbo accomiatarmi da lei per sempre.
May 7, 2022
Quando Edgar Ravenswood, ultimo discendente di una nobile famiglia ormai in rovina, salva dalla morte la giovane e bella Lucia Ashton, figlia di Sir William Ashton, nemico giurato dei Ravenswood e causa della loro rovina, fra i due scocca l'amore, ma la madre della giovane ordirà un piano per mandare a monte le nozze e combinare un matrimonio forzato con il signore di Buclaw, gli eventi vireranno presto verso la tragedia.
"La sposa di Lammermoor", romanzo storico scritto da Walter Scott nel 1819 e a detta sua basato su eventi realmente accaduti nella famiglia scozzese dei Darlymper, ci immerge nella Scozia del regno della Regina Anna (1702-1714).
Il romanzo, una tragedia gotica d'amore, prende il lettore sin da subito, con una scrittura ricercata ma non complessa il romanzo si dipana in un crescendo di disperazione sino al gran finale che lascerà interdetti.
I personaggi, ben tratteggiati e "raccontati" anche se non così approfonditi, risultano perfettamente intrecciati nel racconto, una menzione speciale va poi al vecchio Caleb Balderston, servo di Ravenswood che riesce, con alcune trovare comiche, ad alleggerire il racconto altrimenti particolarmente cupo.
Un romanzo sull'Amore disperato e impedito che nonostante il ritmo non proprio frenetico, terrà il lettore incollato alle pagine.
"La sposa di Lammermoor", romanzo storico scritto da Walter Scott nel 1819 e a detta sua basato su eventi realmente accaduti nella famiglia scozzese dei Darlymper, ci immerge nella Scozia del regno della Regina Anna (1702-1714).
Il romanzo, una tragedia gotica d'amore, prende il lettore sin da subito, con una scrittura ricercata ma non complessa il romanzo si dipana in un crescendo di disperazione sino al gran finale che lascerà interdetti.
I personaggi, ben tratteggiati e "raccontati" anche se non così approfonditi, risultano perfettamente intrecciati nel racconto, una menzione speciale va poi al vecchio Caleb Balderston, servo di Ravenswood che riesce, con alcune trovare comiche, ad alleggerire il racconto altrimenti particolarmente cupo.
Un romanzo sull'Amore disperato e impedito che nonostante il ritmo non proprio frenetico, terrà il lettore incollato alle pagine.
June 29, 2014
Free download available at Project Gutenberg.
From BBC Radio 4 - Classical Serial:
Mike Harris adapts Sir Walter Scott's The Bride of Lammermoor.
The novel is set in the Lammermuir Hills of south-east Scotland at the beginning of the 18th Century and tells of a tragic love affair between young Lucy Ashton and her family's enemy Edgar Ravenswood.
The Ashtons and Ravenswoods have been enemies for centuries - but will a proposed union between the warring families finally bring peace?
Music Composed and performed by Ross Hughes and Esben Tjalve
Violin and viola - Oliver Langford
Written by Mike Harris
Produced and Directed by Clive Brill
A Brill production for BBC Radio 4.
From BBC Radio 4 - Classical Serial:
Mike Harris adapts Sir Walter Scott's The Bride of Lammermoor.
The novel is set in the Lammermuir Hills of south-east Scotland at the beginning of the 18th Century and tells of a tragic love affair between young Lucy Ashton and her family's enemy Edgar Ravenswood.
The Ashtons and Ravenswoods have been enemies for centuries - but will a proposed union between the warring families finally bring peace?
Music Composed and performed by Ross Hughes and Esben Tjalve
Violin and viola - Oliver Langford
Written by Mike Harris
Produced and Directed by Clive Brill
A Brill production for BBC Radio 4.
August 20, 2016
This is my first contact with Sir Walter Scott and i must say i am surprised i took me so long to read any of his work. The story was quite interesting.
Set in the end the 18th Century, in Scotland, it is the tale of the unfortunate love and tragedies of Edgar the Master of Ravenswood and Lucy Ashton.
It might not be an original story, but the setting was fascinating, with a background of Scottish superstitions and legends.
I always enjoy this kind of historical fiction, it always made me dream of a different world, where oaths were sacred and unbreakable, where honor was more valuable than fortunes and where love was pure, simple and eternal.
The characters were very interesting, and my favorite may not be considered as a main one, it is Caleb Balderstone, The butler of the Master of ravenswood. Walter Scott made him look fascinating in his blind devotion for the family he serves and many times he was really hilarious with all the tricks he came up with in order to save the Family Credit, he was a piece of work!
The style of Walter Scott was different and interesting, and i enjoyed the ballads, poem.. that were inserted all along.
and i am sure this will not be the last Walter Scott for me!
Set in the end the 18th Century, in Scotland, it is the tale of the unfortunate love and tragedies of Edgar the Master of Ravenswood and Lucy Ashton.
It might not be an original story, but the setting was fascinating, with a background of Scottish superstitions and legends.
I always enjoy this kind of historical fiction, it always made me dream of a different world, where oaths were sacred and unbreakable, where honor was more valuable than fortunes and where love was pure, simple and eternal.
The characters were very interesting, and my favorite may not be considered as a main one, it is Caleb Balderstone, The butler of the Master of ravenswood. Walter Scott made him look fascinating in his blind devotion for the family he serves and many times he was really hilarious with all the tricks he came up with in order to save the Family Credit, he was a piece of work!
The style of Walter Scott was different and interesting, and i enjoyed the ballads, poem.. that were inserted all along.
and i am sure this will not be the last Walter Scott for me!
September 30, 2014
I love this book! It's as sexy as any romance novel, but has a tragic ending and feels almost like a Shakespeare play. Usually Sir Walter Scott is romantic about history, and the gallant knights and damsels fair always win the day. Here it's almost like he knows the modern world must triumph over a nobler past, and he's sad but honest. When he lets his hero die at the end, he's like Deke Thornton saying goodbye to Pike Bishop in Sam Peckinpah's classic Western THE WILD BUNCH.
September 28, 2019
Eigentlich dreieinhalb, die Konventionen seiner Zeit haben die Erzählung ziemlich viel Potenzial gekostet. Scott ist ein schnell überholtes Genie, Balzac und Dickens haben seine Vorgaben auf ihre Art weiter entwickelt. Dickens mit komischen Originalen, deren Streiche immer grotesker werden und faden Frauengestalten, wiewohl Scott die Qualitäten seiner Lucie auf Kosten seiner in permanentem Ohnmachtsalarm stehenden Zeitgenossinnen heraus streicht.
September 21, 2009
Read in an 1897 edition. [These notes were made in 1982:]. This novel should have been a hundred pages longer. It starts and proceeds at Scott's leisurely pace, and about half the main action - the return of Ravenswood, Lucy's attempted murder of Bucklaw, her madness and death, and Ravenswood's death, are crammed into the last 15 pages. That rather glaring fault aside, there is much to like here, and some particularly impressive scenes - one can see how it captured the European imagination enough to be turned into an opera. Having taken Jay [Macpherson:]'s course, I am now fully aware of two contrasting elements in Scott's work - the generalized "romantic", with its ladies beside fountains, its proud young hero, and domineering mother-in-law figure. These characters could as easily be English, or French, or Spanish, or anything, provided they were surrounded by appropriately stunning scenery. Then there are the highly localized, dialect-speaking lower and middle class, who certainly fit into the scheme Walpole identified - the "comic relief" - but are also the transmitters of the Scottish tradition, the Scottish language, and the Scottish (as opposed to merely general) supersititon. With a curious double vision, we can see the three old hags of this novel not only as direct descendants of Macbeth's trio, but as aged Scottish crones - in which latter light they are consistently characterized by the narrative voice. Scott is playing games with us here, although it is a game common to the Romantic period - the game of relating in a very rational, almost sceptical fashion, things which bear only supernatural explanations, prophecies which irresistibly come true. "Here it is for your consideration," we are challenged, "something which shouldn't be, but is - and I, your author, have no opinion on the matter." The plot of Lammermoor is, of course, familiar through the opera Lucia, but where the brother is the chief "heavy" in the opera, it is the shrewd but rather weak father that Scott concentrates on. Caleb Balderston, with his single-minded pursuit of outward respectability for the Ravenswoods at any cost, is a fine creation. Not Scott at his best, but definitely and most enjoyably Scott.
December 22, 2012
Originally published on my blog here in October 2001.
Scott was once the most famous writer of his generation, and his novels were still quite widely read until relatively recently. Today, though, most of them have pretty much lapsed into obscurity. The Bride of Lammermoor, for example, is probably better known today through the opera Donizetti based on it.
The Bride of Lammermoor is basically a melodramatic variation on Romeo and Juliet. As the son of a Jacobite, Edgar, Master of Ravenswood, has lost his estates to Whig lawyer Sir William Ashton. He lives in poverty in an romantic ruined castle, Wolf's Crag, and falls in love with Lucy, William Ashton's daughter. Ashton himself is reasonably willing to permit the match, as he has no personal animus against Ravenswood and as he moreover forsees an imminent improvement in the political fortunes of the Tories. His wife has other plans for Lucy, though, and so she remains implacably opposed to the match.
While there is much in the novel which has dated, The Bride of Lammermoor still remains exciting in part. The opera simlifies the novel, leaving out many of the minor characters, and this is something which is going to improve it. The servant characters are mainly used by Scott as opportunities for atmosphere or humour, and to a modern reader they seem two dimensional and their use heavy handed. This is particularly the case with Ravenswood's servant Caleb Balderston, who spends the entire novel making extraordinary efforts to conceal the very obvious diminution in the family fortunes.
Scott was once the most famous writer of his generation, and his novels were still quite widely read until relatively recently. Today, though, most of them have pretty much lapsed into obscurity. The Bride of Lammermoor, for example, is probably better known today through the opera Donizetti based on it.
The Bride of Lammermoor is basically a melodramatic variation on Romeo and Juliet. As the son of a Jacobite, Edgar, Master of Ravenswood, has lost his estates to Whig lawyer Sir William Ashton. He lives in poverty in an romantic ruined castle, Wolf's Crag, and falls in love with Lucy, William Ashton's daughter. Ashton himself is reasonably willing to permit the match, as he has no personal animus against Ravenswood and as he moreover forsees an imminent improvement in the political fortunes of the Tories. His wife has other plans for Lucy, though, and so she remains implacably opposed to the match.
While there is much in the novel which has dated, The Bride of Lammermoor still remains exciting in part. The opera simlifies the novel, leaving out many of the minor characters, and this is something which is going to improve it. The servant characters are mainly used by Scott as opportunities for atmosphere or humour, and to a modern reader they seem two dimensional and their use heavy handed. This is particularly the case with Ravenswood's servant Caleb Balderston, who spends the entire novel making extraordinary efforts to conceal the very obvious diminution in the family fortunes.
January 26, 2019
Today Ivanhoe is Walter Scott's most read novel. Ivanhoe is nice enough. Moreover at time when England was considering emancipating its Jews, it draws attention in a timely fashion to how unjust the actual expulsion of Jews from England in 1290 A.D. had been.
Nonetheless, The Bride of Lammermoor is by far the most important book that Scott ever wrote. It took Europe by storm and is largely responsible for the launch of Romanticism in France as the French were blissfully unaware of the German romantic movement.
The Bride of Lammermoor had its greatest impact on Italian opera. In fact, I much prefer Lucia di Lammermoor by Gaetano Donizetti to Scott's novel. For those of you with funds I would suggest that you go to Covent Garden for a performance instead of reading this book. Lucie's death is much more entertaining when presented by a loud soprano and a discreet orchestra than it is on the printed page.
Nonetheless, The Bride of Lammermoor is by far the most important book that Scott ever wrote. It took Europe by storm and is largely responsible for the launch of Romanticism in France as the French were blissfully unaware of the German romantic movement.
The Bride of Lammermoor had its greatest impact on Italian opera. In fact, I much prefer Lucia di Lammermoor by Gaetano Donizetti to Scott's novel. For those of you with funds I would suggest that you go to Covent Garden for a performance instead of reading this book. Lucie's death is much more entertaining when presented by a loud soprano and a discreet orchestra than it is on the printed page.
April 14, 2022
1819...so much drama
March 1, 2023
This was a very strange book. The last three or so chapters were nuts! The mother is so annoying. Poor Lucy.
October 8, 2013
I'm ashamed to say that this is the first novel by Scott that I've read, but I'm pleased that I liked it as much as I did. What's impressive about _The Bride of Lammermoor_ is its complexity. The opening discussion of the ill-fated painter, Dick Tinto, seemed like a bizarre way to begin a story (especially when Tinto himself has so many problems with narrative), but I liked many of the questions the opening raised about the cultural status of romance genre, its reliance on dialogue, and its relationship with visual arts. The subsequent story of Edgar Ravenswood and Lucy Ashton was chock full of over-the-top dramatic potential, with curses, omens, witches, burning towers, frightening paintings, and evil mothers frequently jolting the story from melodrama into the Gothic. As the notes in this edition indicate, Scott was influenced by Walpole's _Castle of Otranto_ at a number of points in the writing of this work.
The frequent juxtapositions of the parts of the narrative are what make this compelling. The reader is speedily transferred from discussions of psychological insight to spectral visitations to self-conscious considerations of genre to comic interactions with peasants. All of these different components feed off of one another. That said, I do think that the comic peasant scenes were some of the hardest to get through, perhaps because of the dialect. At points, I wanted to return to the romance narrative as my interest in the rustic figures waned. This is, of course a problem, and something I'll have to remedy on subsequent readings.
I read _The Bride of Lammermoor_ mostly because Scott was very influential for both H. Rider Haggard and Andrew Lang, and I wanted to understand some of this influence. It's clear that many of the late-Victorian writers of romance admired and imitated him (Stevenson certainly comes to mind). In the case of Haggard, though, I don't think he was ever able to generate the psychological depth that Scott brings to his characters. Still, this was a very useful and interesting read. Thank goodness for a sabbatical!
The frequent juxtapositions of the parts of the narrative are what make this compelling. The reader is speedily transferred from discussions of psychological insight to spectral visitations to self-conscious considerations of genre to comic interactions with peasants. All of these different components feed off of one another. That said, I do think that the comic peasant scenes were some of the hardest to get through, perhaps because of the dialect. At points, I wanted to return to the romance narrative as my interest in the rustic figures waned. This is, of course a problem, and something I'll have to remedy on subsequent readings.
I read _The Bride of Lammermoor_ mostly because Scott was very influential for both H. Rider Haggard and Andrew Lang, and I wanted to understand some of this influence. It's clear that many of the late-Victorian writers of romance admired and imitated him (Stevenson certainly comes to mind). In the case of Haggard, though, I don't think he was ever able to generate the psychological depth that Scott brings to his characters. Still, this was a very useful and interesting read. Thank goodness for a sabbatical!
November 15, 2016
"When the last Laird of Ravenswood to Ravenswood shall ride,
And woo a dead maiden to be his bride,
He shall stable his steed in the Kelpie's flow,
And his name shall be lost for evermoe!"
Ill-fated lovers from rival families, an old prophecy threatening to come true, an imperious blind sybil, three malicious old crones straight out of MacBeth and the usual soup of sectarian political maneuvering, The Bride of Lammermoor is everything you would want in a Waverley novel, and something less - which is not a bad thing!
Let me explain.
As though conscious of his own long-windedness, which I guess contemporary critics must have been pointing out, Scott opens up his tale with his narrator answering a charge from his friend that his characters "make too much use of the gob box ... there is nothing in whole pages but mere chat and dialogue."
Having read a fair few of these novels now, I call that a fair charge. I wouldn't for a moment want the dialogue of the low born characters to be compromised because I adore the earthy lyricism of the Scotch dialect they use, best represented here by the proud seneschal Caleb Balderstone; but the stilted circumlocutions of the aristocratic characters can be a little trying, so it's a positive plus point for the narrative that these were cut short.
There may not be a significant historical event backdropping the plot to add some extra spice to the story this time around, but the two families at the heart it, the Ashtons and the Ravenswoods, assuredly sit on opposite sides of the Jacobite struggle.
Based on a true story the settings, as always with Scott, are also fictionalized versions of actual places and monuments.
The dilapidated Wolf's Crag, castle of the novel's hero Edgar Ravenswood, was modeled on Fast Castle, which once stood on the very tip of the Berwickshire coast, and a more dramatic location for a doomed dynasty would be harder to find (have a look for it online).
Prime Waverley.
And woo a dead maiden to be his bride,
He shall stable his steed in the Kelpie's flow,
And his name shall be lost for evermoe!"
Ill-fated lovers from rival families, an old prophecy threatening to come true, an imperious blind sybil, three malicious old crones straight out of MacBeth and the usual soup of sectarian political maneuvering, The Bride of Lammermoor is everything you would want in a Waverley novel, and something less - which is not a bad thing!
Let me explain.
As though conscious of his own long-windedness, which I guess contemporary critics must have been pointing out, Scott opens up his tale with his narrator answering a charge from his friend that his characters "make too much use of the gob box ... there is nothing in whole pages but mere chat and dialogue."
Having read a fair few of these novels now, I call that a fair charge. I wouldn't for a moment want the dialogue of the low born characters to be compromised because I adore the earthy lyricism of the Scotch dialect they use, best represented here by the proud seneschal Caleb Balderstone; but the stilted circumlocutions of the aristocratic characters can be a little trying, so it's a positive plus point for the narrative that these were cut short.
There may not be a significant historical event backdropping the plot to add some extra spice to the story this time around, but the two families at the heart it, the Ashtons and the Ravenswoods, assuredly sit on opposite sides of the Jacobite struggle.
Based on a true story the settings, as always with Scott, are also fictionalized versions of actual places and monuments.
The dilapidated Wolf's Crag, castle of the novel's hero Edgar Ravenswood, was modeled on Fast Castle, which once stood on the very tip of the Berwickshire coast, and a more dramatic location for a doomed dynasty would be harder to find (have a look for it online).
Prime Waverley.
August 21, 2009
Scott really is a masterful novelist. If, like me, your knowledge of this tale originates in Donizetti's opera, you will be fascinated by the job of his librettists! They managed to plumb the psychological depths of the story even as they did away with 90% of the characters and plot. The recognizable plot line of the opera starts up about Chapter 20, or nearly 170 pages into the novel. And the last chapters move along with the same intensity as the opera. But the excitement of the novel lies in the ways Scott deploys the standard 19th century novelist's tools to full advantage. He has a fine way of ordering the narrative so that we might be surprised just as a character is surprised, and learn very naturally in the following chapter all the back story that we expect to explain a happening (in particular the appearance of guests at Wolf's Crag and the subsequent story of the change in political winds that precipitated it). True, Scott also deploys traditions of the 19th century novel that seem strained now (a well placed bullet in a charging bull is one thing, but a second well placed thunderstorm that makes turning away unwanted guests impossible is a bit much). Scott also makes full use of Scots dialect and auguries for turning the tale exotic and mysterious. And his own liberal use of foreshadowing makes sure we won't be too surprised by the ending. And somehow, Scott manages that forte of the English novel -- he spends two thirds of the book winding string so that when he pulls the last one and the whole knot comes together it is as inevitable as the sun rising (or the fog rolling in over the Scottish coast line!)
September 9, 2021
Tremendously enjoyable if you like ruined castles, swooning ladies, impecunious aristocrats, Jacobite conspirators, and so much thickly laid on Gothicism it can give you a psycho-physical reaction (a bit like the one I get after bingeing on a barrel of oysters and a butt of malmsey). Yes, it is all a bit overdone – Caleb the comical servant grates after a while, and does the poor sap of a heroine have to be quite so pale and passive? The ending is fabulous but there is a lot of slowly paced narrative before we get there. It’s best to surrender to all of this and luxuriate in it – if you like this kind of thing – which I do. Though I can see why many don’t. Scott would have hated almost everything about contemporary Scotland, and in order to love his novels these days, it is almost certainly necessary to be entirely out of sympathy with pretty much everything in the modern world. Which I am.
May 16, 2012
Beware the Ravenswood!
This is a must read for fans of the genre....a classic gothic romance!
This Gothic tale has it all....witches, women going mad, a family fallen from grace, degenerative castles, ruined fortunes, Byronic heros, star crossed lovers, a dark prophecy, ominous symbology...everything! It is MacBeth, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, and Wuthering Heights all rolled into one. I wish Goodreads would let me give 1/2 stars as I would rate this one 3.5 stars....
See my full review here
This is a must read for fans of the genre....a classic gothic romance!
This Gothic tale has it all....witches, women going mad, a family fallen from grace, degenerative castles, ruined fortunes, Byronic heros, star crossed lovers, a dark prophecy, ominous symbology...everything! It is MacBeth, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, and Wuthering Heights all rolled into one. I wish Goodreads would let me give 1/2 stars as I would rate this one 3.5 stars....
See my full review here
July 23, 2018
I loved this novel by Sir Walter Scott very much, and I am eager to read more of his novels! I always meant to read it as Donizetti's opera adaptation of this novel (Especially with Dame Joan Sutherland as Lucia) is one of my favorite operas! The novel is about loss, revenge, love, honor and dignity, marriage, and death, with Gothic elements. It also has something from Shakespeare's plays, particularly, Macbeth, where Lady Ashton is somehow reminiscent of Lady Macbeth. That was my first Scott novel but it will not be the last for sure.
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