Walter Scott 
The Bride of Lammermoor 

The Bride of Lammermoor Walter Scott – Edgar, the brooding young master of Ravenswood, retains none of his ancestral estates but a crumbling castle. Embittered by the lawsuits that have stripped him of his patrimony and shortened his despairing father’s life, he determines to confront Sir William Ashton, the lawyer whose machinations led to the decline of Ravenswood’s fortunes. But Edgar’s plans take an abrupt turn upon meeting Sir William’s lovely daughter, Lucy, and a romance blossoms against the tumultuous backdrop of the two warring families.Sir Walter Scott’s immensely popular Waverly novels enthralled readers with their dashing mix of historical fiction, romance, and revenge. This installment, originally published in 1819, takes place in the early 1700s amid Scotland’s Lammermuir Hills. Edgar and Lucy’s troubled relationship beset by social, political, and religious barriers reflects Scotland’s struggles in the early 18th century, as the country and its citizens were torn asunder by the Jacobite rebellions. Scott’s treatment of the lovers’ inexorable destiny unfolds in a gothic atmosphere, punctuated by supernatural elements and symbolic imagery. The inspiration for Donizetti’s opera Lucia di Lammermoor, this novel remains a compelling example of its author’s ability to transmute the effects of historical change into literary art.

About the author

Sir Walter Alva Scott was born on August 15, 1771 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Scott created and popularized historical novels in a series called the Waverley Novels. In his novels Scott arranged the plots and characters so the reader enters into the lives of both great and ordinary people caught up in violent, dramatic changes in history.Scott’s work shows the influence of the 18th century enlightenment. He believed every human was basically decent regardless of class, religion, politics, or ancestry. Tolerance is a major theme in his historical works. The Waverley Novels express his belief in the need for social progress that does not reject the traditions of the past. He was the first novelist to portray peasant characters sympathetically and realistically, and was equally just to merchants, soldiers, and even kings.Central themes of many of Scott’s novels are about conflicts between opposing cultures. Ivanhoe (1819) is about war between Normans and Saxons. The Talisman (1825) is about conflict between Christians and Muslims. His novels about Scottish history deal with clashes between the new English culture and the old Scottish. Scott’s other great novels include , i>Old Mortality (1816), The Heart of Midlothian (1819), and St Ronan’s Well (1824). His Waverley series includes Rob Roy (1817), A Legend of Montrose (1819), and Quentin Durward (1823).Scott’s amiability, generosity, and modesty made him popular with his contemporaries. He was also famous for entertaining on a grand scale at his Scottish estate, Abbotsford.