Tracey’s Comments (group member since Jul 17, 2016)

Tracey’s comments from the Sir Walter Scott Appreciation group.

Post freely after reading these chapters but do not post anything on later chapters here.

Post freely after reading these chapters but do not post anything on later chapters here.

Post freely after reading these chapters but do not post anything on later chapters here.

Post freely after reading these chapters but do not post anything on later chapters here.

Some more about Sir Walter Scott

https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK...

Quentin Durward was published in 1823 and is set in 15th century France. A lot of interesting history to this so hope we have a lot to learn and share.

http://www.walterscott.lib.ed.ac.uk/w...

This is our group read for February-March.

You can get the book online at gutenberg.org

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/7853/...

There was much about this novel to love; the story, the characters, the setting. Our of all the Scott novels I have thus far read, this is my favourite or joint-favourite with The Heart of Midlothian.
A definite 5 stars.

What did you like about the book?

Volume 2 is filled with a lot of action as well as some revelations. The lover of Miss Mannering turns out to be the son of Bertram and heir to Ellangowan. Glossin, who obtained Ellangowan by devious means does not want it known that such heir is actually alive and that he had a part in his kidnapping.

My thoughts at the end of book one are all positive. I love the characters and how well-drawn they are. I love the beliefs of Scott displayed through the characters and their interactions with each other.
Several persons have come into the story and then vacated early on and I look forward to more of their story. Meg Merrilies is an interesting character. With her gipsy beliefs and the reading of the celestial bodies by Mannering, the book certainly has plenty of superstitions for a book written by a Christian. However, I find that this is not unusual for this time period and indeed even down to my mother's generation these things commonly went hand in hand.

I not exactly sure why Mannering came back to Ellangowan and I think I missed something. I was reading this over the Christmas period so I am blaming that for my lack of concentration on that point. Can anyone answer my question about this?

The decline of the house of Ellangowan in book 1 after the tragedy of the beginning is a typical pattern for a novel of this time period; those struck down will rise again. This is what I am expecting. Whilst it is somewhat formulaic I still love it. At times the drama is a little cliched but I do not think it is overly so and Scott I feels does a great job by portraying other characters with very human feelings and attitudes. Julia is especially an almost modern female character with her sharp wit and confidence. Lucy Bertram is more the typical heroine of the period but again I still like her. Overall I prefer Julia.

Mannering's response to Brown is understandable and I feel that the deception that was played against him was very unfair. How can a man make wise judgements when he is being deceived by the very people who he should be able to trust the most? Brown's feelings towards Mannering is also understandable and his attitude to winning Julia is very commendable.

Finally, I mention Dominie Sampson. What a wonderful character and his love of books and the descriptions of him lost in his own world are delightful. A man too proud to be vain, is how Scott described him. He is doing what he considered the most important work and in this alone he is absorbed. I have felt this in my own work and it is a wonderfully freeing experience. It reminds me of a quote from one of my favourite novels. My Ántonia by Willa Cather

'At any rate, that is happiness; to be dissolved into something complete and great.'

I find that the following website is a good resource for all things Scott.

http://www.walterscott.lib.ed.ac.uk/h...

Guy Mannering.

http://www.walterscott.lib.ed.ac.uk/w...

Guy Mannering is an early Scott novel, being published in 1816, a year after the first Waverley novel. This is 3 years after Scott's contemporary Jane Austen published Pride and Prejudice, and 1 year after the Battle of Waterloo.

Please post below any background information you feel is relevant without spoilers about the book.

The book is in 3 volumes and as such, I have posted threads for members to post their thoughts after reading each volume.

Rosemarie wrote: "This is a good one, Tracey. Happy reading!"

I have all my Christmas preparations done and so I am going to have a stressfree time reading this between now and the New Year.

I have finally started the book and so far I am enjoying it. Some interesting characters.

Comments

Comments?

Post comments freely but do not post beyond this week’s reading.

Lori wrote: "I haven't been able to get ahold of The Siege of Malta and Bizarro. They're not available for free online like the others and our library doesn't have them. I had wanted to read them at one point j..."

Thanks Lori. I thought you’d be the one to ask.

P.D. wrote: "I’ve been trying to place his last novel, Bizarro. He’s a Calabrian bandit on the run from the French army so I was thinking 1305 to 1378? Not certain as I don’t have a copy but sounds like it coul..."

I am not sure but this along with The Siege of Malta were unfinished and in the eyes of many, not worth reading. Scott was very ill at the time. It's not likely that we will read these two.

If anyone has read them, please post your thoughts in this thread

1097:
1. Count Robert of Paris READ
1187–94:
1. The Betrothed, READ
2. The Talisman READ
3. Ivanhoe READ
1307:
1. Castle Dangerous
1396:
1. The Fair Maid of Perth
1468–77:
1. Quentin Durward, TO READ FEB 2020
2. Anne of Geierstein
1547–75:
1. The Monastery,
2. The Abbot,
3. Kenilworth, TO READ MAY 2020
1616–18:
1. The Fortunes of Nigel
1644–89:
1. A Legend of Montrose,
2. Woodstock,
3. Peveril of the Peak,
4. The Tale of Old Mortality,
5. The Pirate
1700–99:
1. The Black Dwarf,
2. The Bride of Lammermoor, READ
3. Rob Roy, READ
4. Heart of Midlothian, READ
5. Waverley, READ
6. Guy Mannering, TO READ NOV 2019
7. Redgauntlet,
8. The Antiquary TO READ AUGUST 2020
19th century:
1. St. Ronan's Well

P.D. wrote: "Hi. My name is Mack but my nom de plume is P.D. I’m a fan of most 18th century literature from penny dreadfuls, gothic, historical, and philosophical. I really fell in with Scott when I purchased a..."

Welcome Mack. We are a small group but dedicated group. We have read Waverley and you can find our discussion on the discussion board. We have Guy Mannering coming up in November and hope you can join us for that. Look forward to your comments and thoughts on all things Scott.

Lori wrote: "I'm Lori. Scott is one of my favorite authors and I ended up doing a marathon of all of his novels some years back. I probably won't end up doing many re-reads, but I might follow along with the di..."

Hi Lori your comments are always very welcome and much appreciated. Thank you for your encouragement to us all to continue in this challenge.