Scott-Land: The Man Who Invented a Nation
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'In a smart, refreshingly uncynical book, Kelly examines Scott, Scotland and himself in an intelligent, lively analysis of a great small country' IAN FINLAYSON, THE TIMES 'A lovely piece of work - the best book on Scott, indeed, since Edwin Muir's Scott and Scotland' ANDREW O'HAGAN 'Kelly engagingly assesses Scott's various works and insightfully sets Scott in his context' THE INDEPENDENT --The Times, Andrew O'Hagan, The Independent
Sir Walter Scott s life and legacy is pored over as the genetic code for the country he created . --The Times, Saturday Review
Kelly s anatomy of Scott, past and present, is a bookish treat and never less than interesting. --The Sunday Herald
'Erudite, witty and challenging.' --Ian Wall, Scottish Review of Books
Kelly s anatomy of Scott, past and present, is a bookish treat and never less than interesting. --The Sunday Herald --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
Sir Walter Scott s life and legacy is pored over as the genetic code for the country he created . --The Times, Saturday Review
Kelly s anatomy of Scott, past and present, is a bookish treat and never less than interesting. --The Sunday Herald
'Erudite, witty and challenging.' --Ian Wall, Scottish Review of Books
Kelly s anatomy of Scott, past and present, is a bookish treat and never less than interesting. --The Sunday Herald --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
Product Description
His name and image are everywhere - from Bank of Scotland fivers to the monument in Edinburgh's city centre - yet who reads Walter Scott these days? Stuart Kelly explores the enigma of Scott and the disparity between his influence and his status, his current standing and his cultural legacy in a voyage around Scotland. Born in Edinburgh, the ninth child of a lawyer, Scott trained as a lawyer. After the phenomenal success of his novel 'Waverley' (1814) he produced a string of novels, such as 'Rob Roy', 'Guy Mannering', 'Ivanhoe', 'Old Mortality' and 'The Talisman'. Scott's writing strongly influenced, among others, Emily Bronte and Alexandre Dumas, although Mark Twain loathed it; he named a sinking boat, The Walter Scot in 'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'. Scott's management of his financial affairs left much to be desired and he was an extravagant spender on his house in Abbotsford and historical artefacts. He found himself in debt in 1826 to the tune of GBP100,000 and attempted to write himself out of it. By the time of his death in 1832 he had cleared GBP70,000.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Scott-land
7 Sep 2010
Format:Hardcover
If you grow up in Edinburgh, it's hard not to do so in the shadow of Sir Walter Scott, or at least the massive `steam-punk version of Thunderbird 3' erected in his memory. Yet, as Stuart Kelly points out, few authors have risen and fallen so far in terms of reputation - from `Scotland's Shakespeare' to (according to Irvine Welsh) `arse-licker to the Prince Regent' - while having such a profound influence on the identity of their homeland.
With modern day Scotland being a somewhat anomalous concept in terms of nationhood, Kelly convincingly argues that the internationally recgnised idea of Scotland -- Scott-land -- is, whether we like it or not, largely derived from the work of the man called upon to organise the `King's Jaunt' in 1822.
This is no dry history; befitting the novelist who wrapped the corpulent George IV in the appropriated emblems of Jacobean rebellion, Kelly -- a fellow Borderer who came to Edinburgh too -- mixes biography and literary history with personal insights into his own growing appreciation of Scott. Not least the £5 that a nine year old Kelly won for an essay on a Scott Tour, that was wisely invested in a Star Wars PDT-8 troop transporter.
With modern day Scotland being a somewhat anomalous concept in terms of nationhood, Kelly convincingly argues that the internationally recgnised idea of Scotland -- Scott-land -- is, whether we like it or not, largely derived from the work of the man called upon to organise the `King's Jaunt' in 1822.
This is no dry history; befitting the novelist who wrapped the corpulent George IV in the appropriated emblems of Jacobean rebellion, Kelly -- a fellow Borderer who came to Edinburgh too -- mixes biography and literary history with personal insights into his own growing appreciation of Scott. Not least the £5 that a nine year old Kelly won for an essay on a Scott Tour, that was wisely invested in a Star Wars PDT-8 troop transporter.
Just the Ticket to Enjoy Scotland
16 Nov 2011
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Scott-land: The Man Who Invented a Nation by Stuart Kelly
Culture, travel, history, tourism all rolled into one. Sir Walter Scott is the spangle on this pleasant parcel. A parcel with a small-print warning ... Scott's set of Waverly novels is "some kind of literary trilobite" that "[w]e do not read nowadays". But why let that silly fact affect our historical romanticism as we travel Scotland wishing to see an imaginary country through rose-tinted glasses in accord with our educational programming by the British and Scottish Tourist Bureaus.
Scott is there in statues, monuments, busts, plaques, street names, road signs and business hoarding, as the region's most famous son. And so we should enjoy our travels and Stuart Kelly's cultural guide ... or his "Baedeker", if we continue the romantic flavor and use a useless word coined from Karl Baedeker (1801 - 59) a German travel guidebook publisher.
If we happily want to accept that "... Scotland would not be Scotland except for Scott" and don't ask why, and if there is a fatherland to return home to, then this book is just the ticket. Enjoy.
Malcolm Cameron
17 November 2011
Culture, travel, history, tourism all rolled into one. Sir Walter Scott is the spangle on this pleasant parcel. A parcel with a small-print warning ... Scott's set of Waverly novels is "some kind of literary trilobite" that "[w]e do not read nowadays". But why let that silly fact affect our historical romanticism as we travel Scotland wishing to see an imaginary country through rose-tinted glasses in accord with our educational programming by the British and Scottish Tourist Bureaus.
Scott is there in statues, monuments, busts, plaques, street names, road signs and business hoarding, as the region's most famous son. And so we should enjoy our travels and Stuart Kelly's cultural guide ... or his "Baedeker", if we continue the romantic flavor and use a useless word coined from Karl Baedeker (1801 - 59) a German travel guidebook publisher.
If we happily want to accept that "... Scotland would not be Scotland except for Scott" and don't ask why, and if there is a fatherland to return home to, then this book is just the ticket. Enjoy.
Malcolm Cameron
17 November 2011
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