The Heart of Mid-Lothian (Penguin Classics)
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Review
The Edinburgh Edition! aims to rescue these superb works of fiction from an unfortunate history of errors...!A huge project, very scholarly, and altogether very grand indeed! it is perhaps Scott's most profound novel, being a considered meditation on the nature of justice! the novel is, above all, a superb story with a cast of rich characters. -- Harry Reid A part of our immediate response to these exemplary volumes is to feel the discrepancy between Scott's slapdash, hearty, headlong method of composition and the painstaking toil of his editors!the Edinburgh editors have reverted to the first editions, but have also combed the manuscripts for missed readings and lost material; some of the latter, such as the portraits of Edinburgh literati in Guy Mannering, are substantial discoveries. From the outset, readers of this volume will know themselves to be in the hands of learned and accomplished editors. By comparing the first edition of Scott's famous work to the manuscript, the editors of this excellent edition produce 'an ideal first edition'! all serious readers wil find the discussion of Scott's creative method fascinating, especially the case Hewitt and Lumsden make for him as a far more careful writer than scholars have heretofore believed! The present volume offers the modern reader a version very close to that a reader in 1818 would have experienced ... Highly recommended. I recommend the book to admirers of Scott and to those who, like me, have never read his work but always felt they should. The Edinburgh Edition! aims to rescue these superb works of fiction from an unfortunate history of errors...!A huge project, very scholarly, and altogether very grand indeed! it is perhaps Scott's most profound novel, being a considered meditation on the nature of justice! the novel is, above all, a superb story with a cast of rich characters. A part of our immediate response to these exemplary volumes is to feel the discrepancy between Scott's slapdash, hearty, headlong method of composition and the painstaking toil of his editors!the Edinburgh editors have reverted to the first editions, but have also combed the manuscripts for missed readings and lost material; some of the latter, such as the portraits of Edinburgh literati in Guy Mannering, are substantial discoveries. From the outset, readers of this volume will know themselves to be in the hands of learned and accomplished editors. By comparing the first edition of Scott's famous work to the manuscript, the editors of this excellent edition produce 'an ideal first edition'! all serious readers wil find the discussion of Scott's creative method fascinating, especially the case Hewitt and Lumsden make for him as a far more careful writer than scholars have heretofore believed! The present volume offers the modern reader a version very close to that a reader in 1818 would have experienced ... Highly recommended. I recommend the book to admirers of Scott and to those who, like me, have never read his work but always felt they should.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
Product Description
Jeanie Deans, a dairymaid, decides she must walk to London to gain an audience with the Queen. Her sister is to be executed for infanticide and, while refusing to lie to help her case, Jeanie is desperate for a reprieve. Set in the 1730s in a Scotland uneasily united with England, The Heart of Mid-Lothian dramatizes different kinds of justice - that meted out by the Edinburgh mob in the lynching of Captain Porteous, and that encountered by a terrified young girl suspected of killing her baby. Based on an anonymous letter Scot received in 1817, this is the seventh and finest of Scott's 'Waverley' novels. It was an international bestseller and inspired succeeding novelists from Balzac to George Eliot.
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THE times have changed in nothing more (we follow as we are wont the manuscript of Peter Pattieson,) than in the rapid conveyance of intelligence and communication betwixt one part of Scotland and another. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
THE times have changed in nothing more (we follow as we are wont the manuscript of Peter Pattieson,) than in the rapid conveyance of intelligence and communication betwixt one part of Scotland and another. Read the first page
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Tony Inglis, in his excellent introduction, notes that The Scotsman on the 1818 publication of The Heart of Midlithian stated that it contained "the best and the worst" of Scott; nail hit firmly on head here. The opening scenes of the Potreous riots and their fallout in early 18th century Edinburgh are vivid and breathtaking. The depiction of family life and the strict Presbyterianism of simple folk are by turns enlightening, funny, and full of pathos. The characters are wonderful. Jeanie Deans' love for her sister is, like the courtroom scenes when Effie relieves the loss of her child, heart-breaking. The ripping yarn cmponents of Scott's works are all there with the riots, the outlaw on Arthir's Seat, and Jeanie's perilous trip to London. But he is often long-winded, adds in completely unnecessary and pointless scenes, relies too much on coincidence, and goes on for a good 100 pages after the glaringly obvious point for the denoumont (Inglis points out the theory as to why this is so.)All in all this book is thouroghly deserving of both its praise and its criticism but I can't help but give it five stars because, at his best, Scott is among the best storytellers I have ever read.
A quick view of the reviews here of Scott's other works confirm that he is indeed the Marmite of classic literature (here I will note in a petty manner than I don't understand why Jane Austen being good necessarily means that Scott is bad). The disagreement is nothing new. While Mark Twain accused Scott of the most awful prose and went on to blame him for the American Civil War Scott was praised to the high heavens in his own lifetime by the likes of Goethe, Lermontov, and Pushkin (the latter more or less blatantly rips off The Heart of Midlothian in his masturful 'The Captain's Daughter). What I'm trying to say is try it, see which side of the fence you're on!
A quick view of the reviews here of Scott's other works confirm that he is indeed the Marmite of classic literature (here I will note in a petty manner than I don't understand why Jane Austen being good necessarily means that Scott is bad). The disagreement is nothing new. While Mark Twain accused Scott of the most awful prose and went on to blame him for the American Civil War Scott was praised to the high heavens in his own lifetime by the likes of Goethe, Lermontov, and Pushkin (the latter more or less blatantly rips off The Heart of Midlothian in his masturful 'The Captain's Daughter). What I'm trying to say is try it, see which side of the fence you're on!
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Perhaps Scott`s work is overlooked with Rob Roy and Ivanhoe falling into the remit of children`s classics.This is certainly not the case with `the heart of mid lothian`.This is the tale of Jeanie Deans and how she set out to save her sister`s life after she is accused of killing her new born child;and her journey to London to appeal for mercy.
Aside from this this book gives an insight what life was like in Scotland in the 1700.As well as the in depth supporting text form the editor;it gives an indepth insight to the tale.With its reference to the Scottish Union with England,The bible,and events in history.
This is a wonderfully written book that is richly rewarding experiece for the reader and is one book that should not be forgotten and deserves like all of Scoot`s work a much wider audience.
Aside from this this book gives an insight what life was like in Scotland in the 1700.As well as the in depth supporting text form the editor;it gives an indepth insight to the tale.With its reference to the Scottish Union with England,The bible,and events in history.
This is a wonderfully written book that is richly rewarding experiece for the reader and is one book that should not be forgotten and deserves like all of Scoot`s work a much wider audience.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The only way you could fault this brilliant book is to home in on some (trivial) inconsistency in the narrative, or complain that the full fate of one of the characters is not fully worked out, or, if all that is too trivial indeed, concentrate on a supposed anti-democratic bias in the writing (which is complete rubbish, Scott couldn't help sympathising with every one of his characters). The fact is, this teems with character and incident and flashes with historical detail. Can you put it down? I doubt it - even if you feel obliged subsequently to support the above complaints.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Masterful edition of an essential novel
Aside from Ivanhoe (and I have my doubts about even that), Scott is woefully under-read today, probably because reading him is a challenge just as reading Shakespeare is a... Read more
Published 17 months ago by Steven J. Pachuta
An undeservedly forgotten masterpiece, Scott's finest work.
Inspired by a true story.
When her younger sister is accused of murdering her new born child only Jeanie Deans can save her life, but to do so she must perjure herself before man... Read more
Published on 28 Mar 2001 by aaron812@pearland.com
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