Sir Walter Scott
 

Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832)
The lay of the Last Minstrel (1805) was the first of the verse romances by which Sir Walter Scott made his name. He had begun by translating German imitation-romances, and collecting the Minstrelsy of the Scottish border, continuing the work of Percy and of The Scots Musical Museum.

The battlefields of the Borders of Scotland and England produced ballads such as the 15th-century Chevy Chase, a romance admired by Sidney, praised by Addison and printed by Percy. Scott followed up his huge success with other verse-romances including Marmion and The Lady of the Lake, until Byron captured this market.

Scott also wrote novels anonymously such as The Quarterly Review, Waverly, The Antiquary, Old Morality, The Heart of Midlothian and Redguantlet. His success was immediate, immense and international. His historical novels use a new social history to recreate the past through characters imaginary and real. He combined wide reading in 18th-century antiquarians with fluent composition and narrative.