Кенилуърт

by Walter Scott, Уолтър Скот, Красимира Тодорова (Translator)

В своя класически шедьовър „Кенилуърт“ Уолтър Скот, един майсторите на историческия роман, ни представя дворцови интриги и борби за влияние по време на най-славния период от управлението на Тюдорите, владичеството на кралица Елизабет Първа.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Romance, Historical, 19th Century, Scotland

447 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1821

About the author

Librarian 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.

Reviews

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

SPOILERS AHEAD

I am starting to reread and read my Sir Walter Scott collection. I enjoyed this story of royal court intrigue with the Earl Of Leicester and Elizabeth 1. The Queen views the Earl as a favorite with rumors of marriage between them. However, the Earl has secretly married Amy Rosbart and keeps her hidden in a remote manor called Cumnor Hall.

The story starts with Michael Lambourne returning to a village near the Hall. He is a rogue and while drinking at his Uncles tavern bets he can get admittance to Cumnor Hall where his old friend Tony Foster is Steward. So begins an adventure of treachery, love, pageantry and intrigue.

A past lover, Tressilian discovers her at the Hall and believes her the mistress of Varney the Earls right hand man and a villain of the highest class. He tries to convince her to escape but she refuses and cannot tell anyone she is married to the Earl.

The description of Elizabeth 1 is excellent although Amy the Countess is quite weak willed and out of her depth. Varney is a marvelous villain and the story is based on true events.

[Metodi Markov · Rating 4 out of 5]

Приятна, макар и малко наивна история. Подходяща е за по-млади читатели.

Не знаех почти нищо за управлението и живота на "кралицата-девственица" - Елизабет I, така че определено обогатих познанията си за този период от английската история.

Уолтър Скот е майстор на историческия роман, следва да прочета и "Роб Рой".

Цитат:

"Не се пули като заклана свиня. Не можеш да подскачаш в серкмето, без никой да те види." 😆🐷

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

So you think that James Joyce, Marcel Proust, and Georges Perec are difficult reads? They are, but you have to add Sir Walter Scott to that list. I have just finished reading Kenilworth and enjoyed every minute of it, though it took me a whole week to read, what with all the detailed end notes and extensive glossary.

If you encounter such words as abye, culiss, cymar, diablotin, or littocks in the course of reading a book, you will either stop dead in your tracks and consult the notes and glossary; or you will charge forward feeling that you are missing something. If this latter option is repeated often enough, you will feel that you have missed out on half the novel.

What makes Scott worth reading is threefold:

1 - He is telling a great story.
2 - He has his history down pat -- and most of his novels are historical novels.
3 - He has some great characters, such as the heartless villain Richard Varney.

As difficult as it is to read Scott with anything approaching comprehension, I love his work, his erudition, and his feeling for language.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Free download available at eBooks@Adelaide.

Due to the Scottish Independence Referendum, which occurred in Sept. 18, I decided to read a couple of books written by two great Scottish writers: The Master of Ballantrae (see my review here) by Robert L. Stevenson and the present book.

The love affair between Queen Elizabeth I and Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, is very well-known and has been described in several books.

However the role played by Amy Robsart, Dudley's wife, into this plot was never put in a first plan, on the contrary.

The Kenilworth Castle - Dudley's castle to which the tittle refers played an important historical role, from the Siege of Kenilworth in 1266 to the scene of the removal of Edward II from the English throne.



Even if this book has some historical inaccuracies, such as the circumstances of Amy Robsart's death as well as the real date of her death (Sept. 8, 1560), Scott manages quite well to write a masterpiece on this historical period.

Two TV series were made based on this book: Kenilworth (1957– ) and Kenilworth (1967– ) with Jeremy Brett, John Bryans, John Fraser.

4* Rob Roy
3* The Heart of Mid-Lothian
4* Ivanhoe
3* Waverley
4* The Fair Maid of Perth
4* The Bride of Lammermoor
$* Kenilworth
TR The Monastery
TR The Pirate
TR The Waverly Novels: Anne of Geierstein
TR The Two Drovers
TR The Antiquary
TR The Lady of the Lake
TR The Talisman

[Елвира · Rating 4 out of 5]

Слагам 4,5 звезди, просто защото ми се струва, че никой исторически средновековен роман, пък бил той и на самия сър Уолтър Скот, не може да надмине „Айвънхоу“ по великолепие!

[Hannah Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This could have had an even higher rating prob if it weren’t for the ending. I won’t spoil it but I was disappointed.

[Kailey (Luminous Libro) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Robert Dudley, the Earl of Lancashire, has a secret marriage with Amy Robsart. He is keeping it hidden from Queen Elizabeth I, hoping to win favor at court and perhaps a crown of his own. His lies are supported by his evil servant, Varney, who schemes on his behalf. Together they keep Amy locked up at Cumnor Place, hiding her from the world. The noble Tressilian discovers their plots and tries to assist Amy, but she loves her husband and won't move against him. At court, Walter Raleigh gains the favor of the Queen, and famously lays down his cloak over the mud for her. Tressilian tries to present a case against the Earl of Lancashire at court, but his plans are foiled by the scheming Varney.

This was such an interesting window into history. I loved all the little side characters to this great drama. We get to see people in all different walks of life, from the great Queen all the way down to a lowly servant. There is a mysterious alchemist, an astrologer, lords and ladies, loyal servants, and servants who will betray their employers for the right price. There are various swordsman and soldiers ready for a duel at any moment. Shakespeare even makes a brief appearance!

I love the rich language of Scott's writing! There is something so weighty and yet light-hearted in his prose. The dialogue is sparkling, but the themes are deep and heavy.

Dudley has to gather certain servants and soldiers around him who are willing to go along with his evil plans. We spend a lot of time with the villains of the story. I found it interesting that some of the bad guys feel remorse for what they have done, and some of them don't. Some dip their toe into the waters of evil, and immediately draw back, repenting and changing their ways. Some dip their toe in, and find that they are stuck and must plunge deeper to cover up their lies, leading them into greater atrocities and murders. They all find ways to justify what they do, rationalizing their crimes, even hiding behind Holy Scripture to pretend that what they are doing is good.

And the good guys are just as complex. Tressilian wants to charge in and save the lady in distress, but she won't let him. So he has to devise roundabout circumspect ways to save her. He places his trust in people that society has cast out, finding valuable allies in strange places. He has to play the political games of the court, and make sure to choose the right time to reveal the truth. Fighting against evil becomes like a puzzle or a game of chess, where the right strategy could save the damsel's life. Nothing is straightforward in this story where all the little moving pieces are shifting in the shadows.

[Kuszma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ha valaki kíváncsi rá, milyen az a „lassú idő”, olvasson Walter Scottot. A közhiedelemmel ellentétben amúgy a mester nem azért írja meg hatszáz oldalban azt, amit egy dán kortárs száz oldalban lerendezne, mert sok leírással operál – nem. Hanem mert szereplői nagyon ráérnek egymással foglalkozni. Nem úgy beszélnek, mint ahogy azt a „gyors idő” megkívánná, hanem telehímzik szóvirággal a szöveg szőttesét, kis túlzással náluk még az is, hogy „Gyorsan, gyorsan! Nincs vesztegetni való időnk!” alsó hangon egy fél oldalas bekezdés. Számomra mégsem unalmas, egyszerűen azért, mert Scottnál a lényeg valóban a szereplők interakciója, ebből rajzolódik ki nemcsak a cselekmény, de maguk a szereplők sajátos gondolkodásmódja is, és hát valljuk meg, Scott szereplői nagyon üdítő jelenségek. Gonoszságuk például nem egyszerű gonoszság, hanem helyenként meglepően komplex motivációs hálózat következménye, aminek köszönhetően képesek folyamatosan foglalkoztatni az olvasót. És ez jó.

A cselekmény amúgy önmagában kifejezetten lendületes. Erzsébet királynő udvarában járunk, aki méhkirálynőként terpeszt Anglia trónján – és igényli, hogy mint minden jó méhkirálynőt, őt is daliás és sima nyelvű hímivarú méhpéldányok döngjék körül. E példányok között a legszemrevalóbb Leicester grófja, akiről rebesgetik, hogy akár király is lehet belőle, mert Erzsébet nem ódzkodna attól, hogy megossza vele nyoszolyáját, következésképpen koronáját is. Csakhogy Leicesternek van egy kis szépséghibája: már nős. Elvette ugyanis – szerelemből! – egy másodvonalbeli nemes gyönyörű és karakteres lányát, Amyt, ráadásul titokban, egy frappáns lányszöktetés után. És most ugye ott áll szögény Leicester, őrlődik egyfelől Amy iránt érzett érzései és kötelezettségei, illetve a korona reménye között. Ráadásul körülveszik egynémely rossz szellemek, csatlósok képében, akik maguk jóval gátlástalanabb eszközöket is megengedhetőnek tartanak a cél elérésében, mint a jó gróf. És máris a kellős közepében vagyunk a cselszövevénynek, amiben részt vesznek a jók, akik Amy megmentéséért ügyködnek, és a rosszak, közöttük is elsősorban a főcselszövő Varney, akik meg valahogy – akárhogy! – eltakarítanák a bal kézről való feleséget az útból.

Én meg azon gondolkodtam, hogy ennek a könyvnek akár az is lehetne az alcíme, hogy „A büszkeség ártalmasságáról”. Mert ha van valami, amiért ezt a konfliktust nem sikerül a szereplőknek megnyugtatóan lezárni*, az a becsületük. Leicester nemcsak rangkórsága miatt lesz bűnrészes, hanem büszkeségből is: Varney ugyanis úgy játszik ezen a büszkeségen, mint a zongorán, és ezzel hajszolja bele egyre mélyebben a gonoszságba. Másfelől Amyt nem csak a Leicester iránt érzett szerelem teszi áldozattá, hanem büszkesége is, hisz ez a rongy büszkeség akadályozza meg, hogy segítséget kérjen, és ezzel megmentse magát. Meg úgy egyáltalán: a regény egyik arisztokrata szereplője sem mentes ettől a bűntől – ha belegondolunk, minden általuk elkövetett hiba erre vezethető vissza. Bezzeg a pórnéphez tartozó szereplők! Ők aztán tudnak racionális döntést hozni! Újabb érv a marxistáknak a feudalizmussal folytatott vitában. Már ha van még feudalista egyáltalán.

Szerettem. Rákényszerített arra, hogy ne a saját időfelfogásomban olvassam, hanem abban, amit Scott üdvösnek tart, és ez bevallom, pajzán élvezetet okozott.

* Ez nem spoiler, hisz a végkifejlet (Amy rút meggyilkolása) már a szerző előszavából kiviláglik.

[George · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. An interesting, overly long historical fiction novel set in England in 1575. Dudley, the Earl of Leicester, is a favourite of Queen Elizabeth. Unknown to the Queen, Dudley is secretly married to Amy Robrant and keeping her at his home in Cumnor. Dudley is a weak man, torn between his love and ambition.

Readers who have enjoyed the author’s other historical novels should find this book a worthwhile reading experience. ‘Rob Roy’, ‘Ivanhoe’ and ‘Old Mortality’ are my favourite Scott novels.

This book was first published in 1821.

[Briynne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m sorry to say that I hated this a little bit. I had such hopes for Walter Scott, and I find myself in a pickle because I’m determined to finish my three-novel omnibus regardless of my impression of this first attempt. With any luck Ivanhoe and Quentin Durward will be better, but I just don’t know how hopeful I am. What really gets me is that I thought the plot had such promise; it’s the story of Amy Robsart, the secret wife of Queen Elizabeth’s famous favorite, the Earl of Leicester. I like court intrigue and Golden Age England. I was looking forward to mentally tsk-tsking Leicester for being such a duplicitous and falsely charming little weasel. Furthermore, I thought that the hidden countess had all the makings of a proper tragic heroine. Basically, I had already written a nice and cozy Gothic melodrama in my head only to be confronted with what Scott actually wrote.

Saving the bits with Elizabeth herself, who is beautifully written in her vanity, mistaken affection, and intelligence, this was trekking through mud to read. Amy is a simpering fool who threw away a good man for the absent and feckless Leicester; my resounding lack of pity for her surprised even me. Her maid was tolerable, but Amy herself was painful to read. Leicester wasn’t even fun to hate, as he might have been if he had seemed like the master of any of his decisions. As it was, he seemed more an Othello to Varney’s Iago, and I just thought him useless. Varney, granted, was vile and cunning enough to be interesting, but was so tamely written that it again just sort of all canceled out into dullness.

The real problem with this book, unfortunately, seemed to be Scott. There is a prissiness and gentrified smugness to every line in this book that is practically insufferable. You can hear the delicate 19th century sensibilities much louder than the 16th century plot, and it’s as distracting as it is annoying. I felt like there wasn’t any depth to the story or characters – they just seemed to float airily along with very nice manners and improbably formal speeches at every turn. Scott was such a popular favorite that I expected something better, but hopefully things will improve with my next try. Wish me luck, as I might need it :)

[Misfit · Rating 5 out of 5]

As the book opens, Amy Robsart has left her family home and has secretly married Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. Amy's father, Sir Hugh and the man her father intended her to marry, Edmund Tressilian, have no knowledge of Amy's whereabouts and suspect foul play at the hands of Dudley's sneaky master of the horse, Richard Varney, and Tressilian goes in search of Amy at an old manor house, Cumnor Place. As Elizabeth I's attraction to Dudley grows, so does Dudley's ambitions to reach for the stars and a greater place at court than he ever dared for, and Amy becomes a bit of a liability -- especially to Varney who hopes to rise in power alongside his master--and thus the game is on.

This is the first Walter Scott that I have read, with the exception of Ivanhoe and that was many years ago when I was a young child. I admit to almost giving up a couple of times, as the vernacular used by the characters was hard to follow at times, but it's worth slugging through the first 50 or so pages until the story starts cooking along as Scott takes the reader on a grand ride through the court of Elizabeth Tudor. Even Walter Raleigh makes a wonderful secondary character, his characterization of Elizabeth I was spot on, and I loved the way Scott worked Dudley's famous fete of Elizabeth at his castle at Kenilworth into Amy's story.

Although Scott based this tale on an old English Ballad (which is printed in the back of the book) and not known history, it's still a jolly good yarn peopled with interesting characters, poison, astrology, treachery and all the well known intrigues of the Court of Elizabeth I. Those of you who are well versed in Tudor history already know the fate of Amy Robsart and I will have to warn those potential readers who are picky about historical accuracy that Scott definitely diddles with history in this tale. But for those readers who are willing to forget what's in the history books and ready to enjoy a jolly good yarn by a master storyteller about Elizabethan England, this is one book worth checking out, and I intend to read other books by this author. Five stars.

[Steve R]

As stated in its introduction, an attempt to follow The Abbot's presentation of Mary Queen of Scots with a novel about Elizabeth. More specifically, it deals with one of her courtiers, the Earl of Leicester, who has rather illadvisedly married Amy Robsart, the daughter of a minor Duke. But since he is a favorite at court, and holds the desire to wed Elizabeth and thus become King, he keeps his wife secluded at Cumnor Hall and only visits surreptiously and rarely. His henchman Varney is a truly despicable character, one of Scott's best villians who, after taking his own life on the last pages of the novel, still held his sarcastic sneer. Tresselian, an early admirer of Amy's, tries to get her out of the clutches of Varney and Leicester, and briefly allies himself with the Earl of Sussex, the main rival to Leicester in the struggle for the Queen's affecions.

The climax of the novel at Kenilworth, the castle of Leicester, when Amy makes herself known to Elizabeth but refuses to divulge her marital status, is really high drama. The bit parts of Wayland Smith, an 'artist' but more of a blacksmith and a doctor and his sometimes side-kick Donnie, are very well drawn, as is the poisoner Alasco who succumbs to his own potions. Walter Raleigh is cast as an up-and-coming courtier, complete with his cloak over the puddle scene to win Elizabeth's favour. The drunkard Michael Lambourne meets a violent end, but not one any discerning reader would care much about given the buffoon he is drawn to be. The eventual murder of a major character by another one - albeit against the reformed wishes of a third, is not quite as tragic as it could have been since Scott really makes it seem like she's a relatively empty-headed beauty who was only desirous of social rank.

Well crafted characters, an expansive but tightly controlled plot, and some real scenes of colour - for instance, that of performers mimicking the five invaders of the British Isles - Britons, Romans, Saxons, Danes, Normans - make it one of the best in the Waverley series.

[RWBresearch · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this for two reasons: one, because my friend Tara is writing about it, and two, because as large part of it centers on a entertainment that the Earl of Leicester presented for Elizabeth 1 at his estate at Kenilworth in 1575, and I am writing about that entertainment (and his elaborate garden) for a project of my own. There is a a lot of Elizabethan pastiche here, imitating the language and interplay of Elizabethan drama, which bogs it all down in my opinion. The text combines some elements of historical accuracy with wild fantasy. But it is a ripping yarn, if you can skim through the heavy-handed "olde Englishe" carrying on.

[Jules · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very slow book to get in to, but I'm tolerant and once all of the background information was behind me I really enjoyed the story. The copy I read had notations of what was historical fact and fiction. I found it so interesting. I usually need happy endings, so I was surprised how much I liked this book.

[Sherry Sharpnack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for my independent-study English Romanticism class. I read a bunch of Sir Walter that summer.

[Malvina · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Slight spoilers below*

I was told to read this because I hope to visit Kenilworth Castle. Part 1 sets the scene for this tale of mystery, deception, court politics and murder, set in 1575 when Elizabeth 1 did indeed visit one of her favourites - Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester - at Kenilworth. There is a large smattering of historic licence from Walter Scott, but it all makes for a terrific tale.

It's rather a hard slog to read at first, but it picks up in Part 2 with the entrance of Elizabeth 1 (and even Walter Raleigh, in splendid form). From then to the end of part 3 the story races along, with wonderfully poetic prose from the master. As the introduction in this volume proclaims, the novel contrasts: '...a brilliant but deeply flawed society and its destined victim whose integrity, strength and essential innocence expose its moral bankruptcy...' What causes all this deception and deceit? The suspicion that Elizabeth 1 will not approve of the (secret) marriage of the Earl of Leicester to lovely Amy Robsart, sadly languishing most of the time like a luxuriously caged bird at Cumnor-Hall.

The story is fabulously entertaining. I particularly enjoyed the references to Elizabeth 1 when she suddenly transforms from 'woman' to the unmistakable 'daughter of a line of kings', or shows her queenly blood as 'that of Henry VIII'. Watch out!

*Ending spoilers*

I love the last two verses included in the book from the beautiful elegy translated by William Julius Mickle, titled 'Cumnor-Hall'. They say it all:

The village maids, with fearful glance,
Avoid the ancient moss-grown wall,
Nor ever lead the merry dance
Among the groves of Cumnor-Hall.

And many a traveller has sigh'd,
And pensive mourn'd that lady's fall,
As wandering onward he has spied
The haunted towers of Cumnor-Hall.

[Ruthie Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review to come later.

Here are some of my favorite quotes:

"...when stakes are made, the game must be played; that is gamester's law, all over the world." ~ chapter III

"Well--it is wise to practice beforehand the part which fortune prepares us to play--the young eagle must gaze at the sun, ere he soars on strong wing to meet it." ~ chapter V

"I had never more need that the heavenly bodies should befriend me, for my earthly path is darkened and confused." ~ chapter XVIII

"...but the truth is, that a regard for personal appearance is a species of self-love, from which the wisest are not exempt, and to which the mind clings so instinctively, that not only the soldier advancing to almost inevitable death, but even the doomed criminal who goes to certain execution, shows an anxiety to array his person to the best advantage. But this is a digression." ~ chapter XXX

"An eagle am I, that never will think of dull earth while there is a heaven to soar in, and a sun to gaze upon." ~ chapter XXX

[Reading Trolls · Rating 4 out of 5]

Сюжетът ни разказва за съдбата на съпругата на граф Лестър. Като любимец на кралицата той запазва любимата си в тайна, понеже се страхува, че ще загуби нейното благоразположение. Лестър се впуска в рискована игра, а залогът е тронът или главата му. Графът е много противоречив характер. Любовта му към Ейми изглежда искрена и пламенна, но амбицията му е достатъчно силна да погуби и двамата. Имаше моменти, когато изпитвах съжаление към него, когато си давах сметка колко му е трудно да признае подобна тайна. Предполагам, че Елизабет наистина би го наказала жестоко за игричките му и страхът от гневът ѝ е основателен. Обаче после адски му се ядосвах, защото винаги амбицията му надделяваше над съвестта му и осъзнах, че той никога не би поставил любовта на първо място. За него Ейми Робстар се оказва пречка. Това, че не му достигна воля да се изправи срещу страховете си, и реши да пожертва щастието на съпругата си го причислиха към “лошите” герои в книгата.

https://readingtrolls.com/keniluart-u...

https://reviews.readingtrolls.com/ken...

[Lucy · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a truly terrible piece of work on many grounds. Historically, it's a complete shambles - Scott has plain made up a great deal of the back story, and not very well at that. Dialogue is hopelessly stilted, the long descriptions of the revels at Kenilworth seem to be written by a completely different author, and the last couple of chapters read as if the author has suddenly realised he had a deadline to meet. Scott's earlier works are muddled and hard to understand with their Scottish dialect (I'm thinking of The Antiquary, or Old Mortality), but they did feel to be written in the author's genuine voice. This tripe is like bad Hollywood 100 years before its time.

[Miriam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was... interesting. I don't think I've ever read something besides a Shakespeare play that ended so horribly. Only four characters actually were alive when the book finished. In the last chapter Scott just took his threshing fork and killed everyone off in one mighty sweep. It was totally unexpected and yet expected. Unexpected since I just assumed that it would, like nearly all books I read, end happily. Expected since the situation was so dire that I couldn't see a way out besides someone dying.

It was fun to do this with a book discussion group though! And the story got very gripping near the end.

[Williamacrane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this after visiting Kenilworth Castle. If your unaccustomed to reading eighteenth century English prose, you may struggle a bit with the language, but the reward does more than outweigh the effort. If you like castles, mysteries and history this book is for you.

[Joe Kraus · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s been decades since I read Waverly and almost as long since I re-read Ivanhoe, but I have always had a sense of Scott as a great adventure writer. He’s more or less lost his audience now, though. His language and references are too obscure for most people looking for escapism, and his ideas and literary ambition fall short of, say, Austen or the Brontes. He has a crucial role in literary history, and he’s still a lot of fun to read, but the urgency isn’t there. Why read Scott when there’s so much else to get to?

For me, here, I guess it’s the old hope for literary escape. I went through eight Trollope novels for most of the same reason. He’s good but short of great. He invites me into a rich imagined world, one where he’s testing prejudices and philosophies, yet he’s doing it in what seems today a minor key. And he gives a glimpse of literary history, a chance for me to fill in some of the gaps that become clearer the more I read.

I confess as well that I grew up playing Authors Cards. If you’ve forgotten or never known, it was a Go-Fish game that used cards of famous authors instead of conventional numbers or children’s images. I can still see the serious Dickens and Tennyson. And I can still see Sir Walter Scott with his four great works, Kenilworth among them.

So, for reasons silly and completist, I decided I wanted to read this one, knowing almost nothing about it when I opened it.

That, I admit, was a bit of a mistake. In retrospect, it’s exciting to see Scott as he goes about the business of inventing the middle-brow thriller. Yes, we can see the roots of Hilary Mantel here – this is where historical fiction was born – but I think we can see the roots of LeCarre and Ludlum too. He sets characters in motion and asks us to worry about the repercussions.

So, this one opens with the villainous Varney recruiting newly returned soldier Michael Lambourne to his cause of looking after Amy, nee Robsart and the secret wife of the Earl of Leicester. Lambourne turns out to be a minor character, so it seems a strange place for Scott to start, but the explanation eventually seems clear: he wants to make this as much fun as possible. Lambourne is a good man with a sword but a better man with a bottle. He’s often drunk and loud. He’s inclined toward being a bad guy, but he’s also fun in his appetites.

It takes a while to move from that initial detour, but the thrust of the book deals with Leicester’s dilemma. He’s married the most beautiful woman in England, but he discovers there’s a real chance that Queen Elizabeth will decide to marry him. He has to think about choosing between love and the chance to rule – or at least-co-rule – the kingdom.

Amy is a classic damsel in distress, but Scott has to deal with the challenge of depicting her as something less than an opportunist. She has, after all, married one of the queen’s favorites, and that looks to make her wealthy and powerful. She’s aware enough of it that she refused to be held captive with Varney as her jailer, but Scott also has to play up her virtues. He gives us an Amy who’s deeply in love with Leicester, one who wants his company more than his riches.

The same is true of Leicester. Scott gives us a guy who’s cold-hearted enough to contemplate having Amy murdered but who finds his better angel before he can undertake it. (SPOILER: In that light, Varney is a convenient tool for pulling off the necessary-for-the-sake-of-reflecting-history murder of Amy.)

In some of those scenes, we see Scott with an impressive light hand. It’s not just that he invented this form but that he brought real skill to it. He held his place as one of the most popular writers in the English language for close to two centuries – long enough to be immortalized in Authors Cards, no less – and that didn’t happen by accident.

There are some thrilling moments here, and you can see how someone like Alexander Dumas would have read this work and determined to write The Three Musketeers. Still, there are also some slower ones. It becomes clear toward the end that we’re working toward a climax of will-they-or-won’t-they kill Amy. And then we get a series of chapters celebrating some of the masques that Leicester threw at his Kenilworth castle. Interesting as history? Maybe. But it kills the momentum of the story.

Add that to the care that Scott takes in refusing to blame either Leicester or Amy for their troubled marriage, and the niceties get in the way.

So, I did enjoy this one, but I remember Waverley and Ivanhoe as decided cuts above. I have a solid, portable collected Scott on my phone now, so I think I’ll keep going. As it is, it takes four of a kind to win at Authors Cards, so I have a couple more to go.

[Davis Saunders · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kenilworth is a historical fiction novel which tells the tale of the Earl of Leicester, a favorite of Queen Elizabeth I. The Earl is married, but in the name of ambition, he hides this from the Queen and from England. The story covers the Earl, his wife, and several surrounding figures.

Sir Walter Scott wrote in the time before people lost their attention span, and that is evident. With that, the first 200 pages or so is on the slower side, setting up the characters and situation. The back 250 are where they all collide, and you watch as the Earl of Leicester allows ambition and bad advice to overcome his conscience and decision by decision makes everything worse. It’s a stressful read but very good. I read the entire back half of the book in a day and could not take my eyes off the page.

Also, Queen Elizabeth I is very interesting, and I now want to read a biography of her.

[Allie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was this book Kenil-worth it? Great question! Either way, this was a book that I read and now my coworkers never have to hear me say the word "Kenilworth" ever again. My opinion of it is highly elevated, though, by the quote, “I tell thee...thou art an ass. Go bolt the wicket on the stair, and trouble not thy noodle about ghosts.” I love a novel written in the nineteenth century that mentions a ghost!

[Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

This dragged for me. I read Walter Scott for adventures and heroics, but this book is about a weak man tempted into foulness, aided by a rotten servant, and not helped by a useless wife and her annoying ex. I never cheered for anyone. It's a mismatch between expectation and reality -- the book does what it wanted to, but that's not what I wanted.

[Sofia · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The death-bell thrice was heard to ring,
An aerial voice was heard to call,
And thrice the raven flapp'd its wing
Around the towers of Cumnor Hall".

Now THAT is how you do historical fiction.
This novel was so alive and painted its historical scenes and characters with vividness and depth.
You can feel Scott having fun with this.
An absolute pleasure to read.

[Emily D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me almost a year to read this classic tale! Granted, it was on my phone’s kindle app. Also, it’s set in the 1500’s and very long and so not the easiest to fly through. I also couldn’t read it for hours at a time.
The beginning is especially difficult to follow, learning names, personalities, roles, locations, and dynamics. I was probably halfway through before I settled into a groove and easily understood what was happening.
After investing so much time and energy in this saga, I will admit I felt I was owed a bit more at the end. I would have been ok with 20 more pages. The ending was abrupt.

p.139 “”It may be so,” said Tressilian; “those who find themselves severed from society by peculiarities of form, if they do not hate the common bulk of mankind, are at least not altogether indisposed to enjoy their mishaps and calamities.””

p.350 “”Nay, if we must be fools, ever let us be fools of the first head, say I.””

p.351 “”for when one does a foolish thing, it is right to do it handsomely.””

[Edward Polson · Rating 4 out of 5]

“This aching of the heart, this languishing after a shadow which has lost all the gaiety of its colouring, this dwelling on the remembrance of a dream from which we have been long roughly awakened, is the weakness of a gentle and generous heart.”

At first sight an easy-reading novel, a fictionalised story of the events surrounding the Earl of Leicester’s final great attempt to court Elizabeth over an extravagant 19-day reception at Kenilworth Castle, imperceptibly reveals itself to be a work of surprising depth in various directions.

Scott researched meticulously, drawing on first hand accounts — the 1584 Kenilworth Inventory, Gascogine’s The Princely Pleasures…, Robert Laneham’s letter on the same — to portray a mis-en-scene vibrant and accurate in the minutiae.

If he does play with timelines and events in order to construct a compelling narrative — an as yet unborn Shakespeare makes a cameo at court! — we can only forgive him by virtue of his success in this regard.

The unfolding tragedy, psychological depth of characters is, in this reader’s opinion, Shakespearean, a compelling study of Leicester’s fatal ambition weighed against love, and indeed touching on predestination and fate. There is some improbability in certain events, but at every point characters act entirely in character. Could anything have been avoided?

The characterisation and portrayal of the courtly age is also excellent; in their magnanimity the likes of Leicester, Raleigh, Tressilian tower above the modern reader. Some Dickensian oddities of characters also make amusing appearances, if with some incongruity.

A must read for all sensitive young men.

[Kaja Kulinicz-Szymankiewicz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Męczące, powolne, przykre, powtarzalne. Jednocześnie świetnie napisane - mimo znajomości tej historii (książka opowiada o wydarzeniach historycznych), powiątpiewałam czy zakończy się tak, jak "powinna", tak dalece autor zawirował akcją i zdarzeniami.
Przykra opowieść o zwycięstwie zła nad niewinnością, przykry obraz wielkiego hrabiego, potężnego możnowładcy, który ma serce myszy, moralność gadzią, a rozum jak mucha.

[Eliza Fitzgerald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved. Favorite novel so far this year