Sir Walter Scott Biography

Walter Scott was a superstar novelist of the early 19th century, and a pioneer in the art of the historical novel. His special interest was Scotland’s history and culture; his first literary success was a collection of Scottish ballads and narrative poems, the five-volume Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border (1802-03). Over the next 30 years he produced a tremendous number of novels, biographies, stories and poems. The best-known is probably Ivanhoe (1819), a romantic tale of chivalry with a cast that included Richard the Lionheart and Robin Hood. Other works include The Lady of the Lake (1810), the Waverley novels (first published in 1814), Rob Roy (1818), The Bride of Lammermoor (1819), and the epic poem Marmion (1808) which includes his famous ballad Lochinvar. He was made baronet by the Prince Regent (later King George IV) in 1818. Never a prudent man with money, Walter Scott suffered a calamity when the publishing firm of which he was part-owner went bankrupt in 1826. Scott resolved to pay off the debt by writing, but the tremendous exertion ruined his health and led to his death in 1832.