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Waverley, Volume 1
This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.
- GenresClassics
43 pages, Audiobook
First published January 1, 1814
44 people are currently reading
33 people want to read
About the author
Walter Scott
9,092 books2,017 followersLibrarian 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 23, 2025
Waverly is a work of historical fiction that takes place during the 1745 Jacobite uprising in Scotland. It felt more real having been fortunate to take a trip there with my sisters, and a daughter, in 2018. We visited the battleground of the rebellion’s final battle at Culloden, now a memorial and the final resting place to so many highlanders who were buried together by clan under giant mounds. It was a somber day. In the novel however, very little attention is spent on the battle at Culloden, with more towards an earlier victory at Preston.
The book reminded me of one of the few negative aspects of my trip to Scotland, which was in visiting so many beautiful castles and landscapes I couldn’t stop thinking about all the decent people caught up in royal aspirations. Innumerable hurt, displaced, and destroyed lives because this person or that wanted to assert a right to run the show. To wear the crown. Invariably, it seemed the poorer people were the ones getting murder’d.
The main character, Edward Waverly, “our hero”, didn’t inspire me. He’s an amiable and level headed englishman to be sure, but quite inconstant. He vacillates between sides and doesn’t seem to know his own mind, and that goes for his pick of ladies. (You had my vote, Alice!). Everyone appeared to want his association, but his noble station was largely all he seemed to offer. He’s no clever military or fighting genius. He’s out of place in a military campaign. Having said that, a contemporary describes Waverley’s aristocratic future at one point in the book and it made me jealous!
My favorite concept, that I absolutely will not forget, is expressed by a poor Scottish woman. The novel states, after a brief encounter with Waverly,
It seems counterintuitive that generosity begets abundance, but the wisdom of the ancients acknowledge the relationship.
The book reminded me of one of the few negative aspects of my trip to Scotland, which was in visiting so many beautiful castles and landscapes I couldn’t stop thinking about all the decent people caught up in royal aspirations. Innumerable hurt, displaced, and destroyed lives because this person or that wanted to assert a right to run the show. To wear the crown. Invariably, it seemed the poorer people were the ones getting murder’d.
The main character, Edward Waverly, “our hero”, didn’t inspire me. He’s an amiable and level headed englishman to be sure, but quite inconstant. He vacillates between sides and doesn’t seem to know his own mind, and that goes for his pick of ladies. (You had my vote, Alice!). Everyone appeared to want his association, but his noble station was largely all he seemed to offer. He’s no clever military or fighting genius. He’s out of place in a military campaign. Having said that, a contemporary describes Waverley’s aristocratic future at one point in the book and it made me jealous!
”I will tell you where he will be at home, my dear, and in his place — in the quiet circle of domestic happiness, lettered indolence, and elegant enjoyments of Waverley-Honour. And he will refit the old library in the most exquisite Gothic taste, and garnish its shelves with the rarest and most valuable volumes; and he will draw plans and landscapes, and write verses, and rear temples, and dig grottoes; and he will stand in a clear summer night in the colonnade before the hall, and gaze on the deer as they stray in the moonlight, or lie shadowed by the boughs of the huge old fantastic oaks; and he will repeat verses to his beautiful wife, who will hang upon his arm; — and he will be a happy man.’
My favorite concept, that I absolutely will not forget, is expressed by a poor Scottish woman. The novel states, after a brief encounter with Waverly,
”she gave him her blessing in the Gaelic proverb, ‘May the open hand be filled the fullest.’
It seems counterintuitive that generosity begets abundance, but the wisdom of the ancients acknowledge the relationship.
November 7, 2017
I knew Waverley was "slow to start" but I'm halfway through and I'm not entirely convinced that it HAS started... it's astonishing to me that these books were such an intense cultural phenomenon. They're not unpleasant, but they're also not gripping. I certainly hope folks in the 19thC could laugh at Mr Waverley's foibles as much as I have.
January 9, 2023
Un bel romanzo d'avventura scritto da sir Walter Scott, capostipite del romanzo storico ambientato in terra scozzese.
La storia è ambientata a cavallo dello scoppio della seconda insurrezione giacobita, durante la quale gli scozzesi si sollevarono nuovamente contro il casato degli Hannover (considerato illegittimo) nel tentativo di reinsediare sul trono l'erede degli Stuart.
Una situazione piena di rischi per un inglese di famiglia filo-Stuart venutosi a trovare in terra scozzese: Edward Waverley è un giovane nobile di campagna il quale, per evitare che il suo temperamento romantico e sognatore potesse spingerlo ad un fidanzamento avventato, è stato frettolosamente insignito di un grado da ufficiale e inviato dal suo reggimento di stanza in Scozia.
Il nostro Edward rimarrà talmente affascinato dai luoghi e dalle persone di questa terra da decidere di intraprendere un viaggio nei territori abitati dai fieri highlanders...con un pessimo tempismo visto che la seconda insurrezione giacobita esploderà imprigionandolo in una posizione politicamente scomoda e molto pericolosa.
Un ottimo primo atto per un romanzo diviso in due parti (conto di recuperare la seconda parte il prima possibile), anche se è necessario abituarsi ad un romanzo scritto da un autore Ottocentesco con tutto quello che ne consegue
Prima di tutto tanta, tanto esposizione: introducendo buona parte dei personaggi l'autore si premura di fornire al lettore una veloce descrizione fisica e un completo background familiare, caratteriale e morale (praticamente l'opposto rispetto alla maggior parte dei romanzi moderni), e infatti il primo terzo del libro è tutta una grande esposizione sulla famiglia del protagonista, su come suo padre (figlio cadetto di una nobile casata) si sia riavvicinato al fratello primogenito grazie ad un incontro fortuito tra quest'ultimo e il protagonista bambino, su come questo incontro abbia indotto l'aristocratico ad interessarsi al futuro del nipote, per poi passare all'educazione e all'indole del protagonista negli anni della crescita e infine alle circostanze che l'hanno portato a lasciare la casa in cui è cresciuto.
Altre caratteristiche tipiche del romanzo Ottocentesco sono un ritmo narrativo più lento rispetto al solito (non aspettativi un'azione al cardiopalma) e un lessico ricco e ricercato, oltre ad una fitta serie di citazioni storiche e letterarie (particolarmente apprezzata la premura della casa editrice nello spiegarle tutte con coincise ma utilissime note a fondo pagina).
La storia è ambientata a cavallo dello scoppio della seconda insurrezione giacobita, durante la quale gli scozzesi si sollevarono nuovamente contro il casato degli Hannover (considerato illegittimo) nel tentativo di reinsediare sul trono l'erede degli Stuart.
Una situazione piena di rischi per un inglese di famiglia filo-Stuart venutosi a trovare in terra scozzese: Edward Waverley è un giovane nobile di campagna il quale, per evitare che il suo temperamento romantico e sognatore potesse spingerlo ad un fidanzamento avventato, è stato frettolosamente insignito di un grado da ufficiale e inviato dal suo reggimento di stanza in Scozia.
Il nostro Edward rimarrà talmente affascinato dai luoghi e dalle persone di questa terra da decidere di intraprendere un viaggio nei territori abitati dai fieri highlanders...con un pessimo tempismo visto che la seconda insurrezione giacobita esploderà imprigionandolo in una posizione politicamente scomoda e molto pericolosa.
Un ottimo primo atto per un romanzo diviso in due parti (conto di recuperare la seconda parte il prima possibile), anche se è necessario abituarsi ad un romanzo scritto da un autore Ottocentesco con tutto quello che ne consegue
Prima di tutto tanta, tanto esposizione: introducendo buona parte dei personaggi l'autore si premura di fornire al lettore una veloce descrizione fisica e un completo background familiare, caratteriale e morale (praticamente l'opposto rispetto alla maggior parte dei romanzi moderni), e infatti il primo terzo del libro è tutta una grande esposizione sulla famiglia del protagonista, su come suo padre (figlio cadetto di una nobile casata) si sia riavvicinato al fratello primogenito grazie ad un incontro fortuito tra quest'ultimo e il protagonista bambino, su come questo incontro abbia indotto l'aristocratico ad interessarsi al futuro del nipote, per poi passare all'educazione e all'indole del protagonista negli anni della crescita e infine alle circostanze che l'hanno portato a lasciare la casa in cui è cresciuto.
Altre caratteristiche tipiche del romanzo Ottocentesco sono un ritmo narrativo più lento rispetto al solito (non aspettativi un'azione al cardiopalma) e un lessico ricco e ricercato, oltre ad una fitta serie di citazioni storiche e letterarie (particolarmente apprezzata la premura della casa editrice nello spiegarle tutte con coincise ma utilissime note a fondo pagina).
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews