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Walter Scott: The father of the historical novel
On his 250th birth anniversary, JENNY FARRELL looks back at the life and work of the great Scottish writer
HOME FROM HOME: The early 16th-century Mailholm Tower in Scotland was where Walter Scott spent much time time during his youth
SIMON PARSONS is gripped by a psychological thriller that questions the the power of the state over vulnerable individuals
KEN COCKBURN assesses the art of Ian Hamilton Finlay for the experience of warfare it incited and represents
The bard gives us advance notice of his upcoming medieval K-pop releases
GORDON PARSONS steps warily through the pessimistic world view of an influential US conservative
HENRY BELL takes issue with the assertion that basic income is a remedy for poverty when it doesn’t address the inbuilt inequality of capitalism
RON JACOBS welcomes an investigation of the murders of US leftist activists that tells the story of a solidarity movement in Chile
WALTER SCOTT, celebrated by Marxist critic Gyorgy Lukacs as the founder of the historical novel, was born in Edinburgh 250 years ago on August 15, 1771.
Born into the upper middle class, his family preserved a sense of tradition of one of the great Scottish clans. Like Rabbie Burns, Scott grew up with the songs and legends of Scotland, a cultural awareness that created a deep sense of national identity.
Scott’s collection Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, a ballad anthology, made him famous. Besides writing, he was deputy sheriff of Selkirkshire, part-owner of a printing press and later a publishing house. Growing debts, however, impacted on his writing.
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