Jörg’s Reviews > Waverley > Status Update
Jörg
is on page 154 of 463
Waverley is merely a pawn of those around him. His agency is limited, his decisions amount to nothing. It's difficult to believe the appreciation he gets by the highland chieftains, the affection received by the ladies.
His resignation from the English army is forced upon him. His effort to seek justice in Edinburgh is about to be thwarted by petty villagers and a scheming publican.
— Sep 19, 2026 01:28AM
His resignation from the English army is forced upon him. His effort to seek justice in Edinburgh is about to be thwarted by petty villagers and a scheming publican.
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Jörg
is on page 329 of 463
At times, the plot crawls at a snail's pace, then it runs like a racing horse. Edward on being separated from his company on the retreat, quickly travels from northern England to London, back to Scotland, gets pardoned, gains the hand of Rose and is the last visitor to his friend and chieftain Fergus Mac Ivor before his beheading.
— Sep 22, 2026 12:59AM
Jörg
is on page 268 of 463
Scott did a fine job describing the interests and political machinations behind the Jacobite Rising. An endeavour doomed to fail under any circumstances. That it went as far as it did is only explicable by lack of communication, slow movement, wrong decisions and fatal allegiances. The images of the low- and highlander Scots aren't very favourable anymore now that the lustre peels off.
— Sep 21, 2026 02:05AM
Jörg
is on page 211 of 463
Taken hostage by interchanging parties, Edward ends up without any proper accomplishment at the court of Bonny Prince Charlie, joins the Jacobite rising in prominent position and shows his charming side at a ball in Holyrood Castle before the march south starts the following day.
Refreshing to have such a hapless passive character as hero today when everyone seeks self-fulfillment and is the center of his universe.
— Sep 20, 2026 02:07AM
Refreshing to have such a hapless passive character as hero today when everyone seeks self-fulfillment and is the center of his universe.
Jörg
is on page 102 of 463
Of concern for those interested in the emergence of the literary novel. Supposedly the first English historical fiction. Super popular at its time. A different time, different readers. For a modern reader, it is slow plodding, verbose, cumbersome. The redeeming features so far are glances of Scott's british humour and eruditeness.
This damned tiny print of my edition and the antiquated English are a huge challenge.
— Sep 18, 2026 01:11AM
This damned tiny print of my edition and the antiquated English are a huge challenge.
Jörg
is on page 50 of 463
Edward Waverley is a dilettante, quick-witted but bored easily and acting on a whim without own convictions, driven by others. An interesting choice and essential for the novel, judging by the introduction.
Scott is at times really funny, oozes witty irony, constantly breaks the fourth wall with explanations to the reader and gets lost in long-winded tedious descriptions of environment. Will be a tough read.
— Sep 17, 2026 12:52AM
Scott is at times really funny, oozes witty irony, constantly breaks the fourth wall with explanations to the reader and gets lost in long-winded tedious descriptions of environment. Will be a tough read.
Jörg
is starting
After two auto-fictional books nominated for the Deutscher Buchpreis in recent years, now for something completely different. Historical fiction from the 19th century. I blame it on a visit to Edinburgh four years ago and the huge Scott monument there, making me a bad conscience that I know nothing about this guy.
— Sep 16, 2026 01:00AM
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Armin
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Sep 19, 2026 01:42AM
Das Motiv vom jungen Mann, der sich ins Hochland verläuft, bildet den Grundstock für viele Romane von Scott, allerdings ist die Diskrepanz zwischen charakterlicher Substanz und Wirkung auf den lokalen Adel und das Volk nie so groß wie beim Erstling. Als Imitator hat Willibald Alexis in Wollodmor, der seinerzeit als echter Scott wahrgenommen wurde, da Einiges bewusst besser gemacht, aber auch ziemlich viel deutsche Senstationsromantik/Doppelgängermotive, sowie ironische Glossen über das Verlagswesen eingebaut.
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Da wird Scotts fehlende Erfahrung mit Romanen und auch die zu der Zeit noch geringe Entwicklung der Literaturform Roman generell sichtbar. Habe noch nie von der Kuriosität Willibald Alexis gehört :-) .
Willibald Alexis ist ein wesentlicher Vorläufer von Theodor Fontane, der auch allerlei Hommagen an sein Vorbild in eigene Romane eingebaut hat, so nimmt Effi Briest 'Die Hosen des Herren von Bredow' mit zur Kur. Wollodmor ist WAs Debüt unter falscher Flagge. Thomas de Quincy besorgte die Rückübersetzung ins Englische.
Spannend. Ein weiterer Fall eines in seiner Zeit sehr populären Autors, der heute weitgehend in Vergessenheit geraten ist. Andere wie z.B. Gutzkow sagen mir nur etwas, weil Straßen in meiner Umgebung nach Ihnen benannt sind.
Kleiner Fann_Fäckt am Rande: In Stendhals Kartause von Parma bekommt Waterloo-Schlachtenbummler Fabrizio del Dongo im restaurativen Italien u.a. die Bewährungsauflage keine Bücher zu lesen, die vor 1720 erschienen sind, mit Ausnahme der Romane von Walter Scott. Ein anachronistischer Seitenhieb Stendhals, es sei denn der Rückweg vom Schachtfeld hat mehrere Jahre gedauert.