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spite of his lameness he climbed the hills and rode his pony at a gallop. Walter’s grandparents told him
thrilling Scottish tales. He learned to love the solemn history of Scotland and liked to recite Scottish ballads
and poems. Scott enjoyed taking trips into the Scottish countryside. These trips gave him profound
knowledge of the life of rural people, and provided material for his first major publication, “Minstrelsy of
the Scottish Border” (1802-1803). This book was a collection of popular songs and ballads and consisted of
three volumes.
At the suggestion of his father, Scott became a lawyer and practiced for fourteen years. During his
business trips, he visited the places of famous battles and collected old ballads. Like many writers
belonging to the Romantic trend, Scott, too, felt that all the good days were gone. He wished to record all
the historical facts he knew before they were forgotten. At the age of 26 Scott married, and bought a large
estate not far from Edinburgh. There Scott built a fine house in the style of a castle. His house became a
sort of museum of Scottish history and culture.
In 1805, he began to publish his own romantic poems, which attracted the attention of the reading
public. The best were “The Lay of the Last Minstrel” (1805), “Marmion” (1808) and “The Lady of the Lake”
(1810). These poems reproduce old legends and combine them with historical material. They were written
with great poetic skill and poet became very famous. But when Byron’s wonderful poems appeared, Scott,
to quote his own words, “left the field of poetry to his rival” who by that time was already a friend of his.
He took to writing novels. It marked a new period in Scott’s creative work. He declined the honour of poet-
laureate in 1813 because he understood that writing official verses and odes on the birthdays of members
of the royal family would interfere with his creative work.
In 1814, Scott published his “Waverley, or ‘Tis Sixty Years Since”.
This novel describes a Scottish rebellion against England in 1745. As
he had an established reputation as a poet, Scott decided to print his
first novel anonymously. The book was a great success, and
everybody wanted to know who the author was. Scott published
many of his novels under the name of “The Author of Waverley”.
During the next seventeen years (1815 - 1832) Scott wrote more
than 27 other novels, four plays and many stories and tales besides.
All of his novels were referred to as part of the Waverley series,
because the author was identified on the title page as “The Author of
Waverley”. Scott’s authorship was officially revealed in 1827, but it
had been known for years.
Despite his success and fame, Scott’s last years were sad. They were marked by illness and financial
difficulties brought on by the failure of a publishing company in which he had an interest. At that time, his
health was broken down. His doctors sent him to Italy; but it was too late. Before reaching Italy, he had to
turn back, and on his arrival at his estate, he died. Literary critics divide Scott’s works into three groups:
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