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1 of 253523 objects
Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832)
The lord of the Isles / by Sir Walter Scott, Bart, with all his introductions and notes, various readings, and the editor's notes. 1858
RCIN 1041034
Queen's Sitting Room, Osborne House
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Partly to escape incessant public gossip about the authorship of Waverley, a novel which he refused to admit having written, in July 1814, Walter Scott joined his friend Will Erskine, Sheriff of Orkney, and the lighthouse engineer Robert Stevenson on a voyage around Scotland’s islands. Travelling aboard the yacht Pharos, the voyage was to survey lighthouses to ensure the safety of shipping lanes, but Scott used it to make observations of Shetland, Orkney and the Western Isles and to gather notes on local customs, stories and folklore to inspire future works. On his return to Edinburgh, Scott discovered that Waverley had become hugely successful, selling out in five weeks with three further editions planned. After the lacklustre performance of Rokeby in 1813, the success was much welcomed by his publisher Archibald Constable and Scott was able to persuade him to support the publication of a new historical poem that he had started to prepare while aboard Pharos.
The new poem, The Lord of the Isles was inspired by the 1307 return of Robert the Bruce to Scotland from his exile in Ireland, his war against England and eventual victory at Bannockburn in 1314. Set within the historic context, Scott added a romantic tale between Edith of Lorn and Ronald, Lord of the Isles. On its publication in 1815, critics noted that the romance felt clumsy and Scott himself reported that he struggled to form the rhymes and develop the syntax. The public appeared to agree and the book was not as successful as its predecessors. -
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