First published anonymously in 1814, “Waverley” was Sir Walter Scott’s first novel and one of his most popular. The story is set in the Scotland of 1745 amidst the Jacobite uprising and follows the young Edward Waverley, an English officer in the Hanoverian army. He is sent to Scotland and while on leave from training he visits friends of his family in the Lowlands and the Highlands. Waverley meets lairds and chieftains, and he is soon caught up in the Jacobite cause and develops romantic feelings for both Rose, the lovely daughter of Baron Bradwardine, and the passionately political Flora Mac-Ivor, sister to Chieftain Fergus. While the English question Waverley’s loyalty, his honor and courage gain him allies on both sides of the conflict. Full of beautiful descriptions of the natural scenery of Scotland and thrilling accounts of battle and danger, Scott drew on his childhood memories and exhaustive historical research to document Scottish history and to preserve a way of life threatened by civil war. The result is a moving and inspiring tale which contains to entertain and educate readers two centuries later. This edition includes a biographical afterword.
