Although his fame was assured by the popularity of his poems, he chose to publish his novels under a pseudonym—perhaps uncertain how they would be received. In 1814 the anonymously published Waverley sold out the entire first run in a matter of days. Critics and readers alike loved Scott’s historical romances; his subsequent novels, such as Guy Mannering (1815), Rob Roy (1817), and his master-piece, Ivanhoe (1819), set sales records and sparked fervent speculation about their authorship. Scott did not reveal that he had written the novels until 1827.

Sir Walter Scott was at the apex of his powers in the early 1820s, when he published one or more works each year; he entertained King George IV in Edinburgh and received honorary degrees from Oxford and Cambridge. He had made a fortune publishing his work through a company he owned with childhood friend James Ballantyne, but even Scott was not immune to the recession that gripped Britain in 1825. By the end of 1826 he had lost everything, his wife had died, and his health was failing. Determined not to declare bankruptcy, Scott pledged the future earnings of his writings to pay off his debts. In addition to burdensome hack work he took to increase his income, he wrote at least one book a year, including Woodstock (1826), Life of Napoleon Buonaparte (1827), and The Fair Maid of Perth (1828). At work on a complete collection of his writings, Scott had a stroke in 1831 and died on September 21, 1832, at his Scottish estate, Abbotsford.

The World of Sir Walter Scott and Ivanhoe

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1771 Walter Scott is born in Edinburgh on August 15, the fourth surviving child of Walter and Anne Rutherford Scott. His father is a writer to the signet (a judicial officer responsible for preparing warrants, writs, and other documents) , the most distinguished position a solicitor can hold in Scotland, and one for which Walter, Jr., will one day apprentice. Anne Scott, whose warrior ancestors figure in Scottish clan lore, regales her children with the oral history of the family, instilling in young Walter a love of traditional ballads. The Encyclopaedia Britannica, founded in 1768 in Edinburgh, completes its first, threevolume edition.
1773 Walter contracts polio, and his right leg is left permanently lame. Hoping to improve his health, his parents send him to live for several years with his grandparents at Sandy Knowe in the Border region. Walter’s gregarious grandmother Barbara entertains him with tales of EnglishScottish border wars, many featuring legendary figures from the family. His doting Aunt Jenny, another caretaker , introduces him to literature and inspires in him a lifelong love of storytelling. Walter’s health improves, but he must use a cane to walk.
1775 The American Revolution begins.
1776 The American Declaration of Independence is written. Adam Smith publishes The Wealth of Nations.
1778 Walter returns home to a new family house in Edinburgh’s George Square.
1779 The family enrolls Walter in the High School in Edinburgh . A keen student undaunted by his physical disability , he is well liked by his classmates. He becomes a
bibliophile, devouring the works of Shakespeare, Edmund Spenser, Ludovico Ariosto, Henry Fielding, and Tobias Smollett.
1783 Walter spends another recuperative year with his Aunt Jenny in Kelso. While studying to enter university, Scott is thrilled to discover Reliques of Ancient English Poetry, a book of traditional ballads collected by Bishop Thomas Percy; the compendium will influence Scott’s collection The Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border (1802-1803). At age twelve, he enrolls in Edinburgh University to study the classics.
1784 Walter’s poor health requires him to recuperate in Kelso for a year, after which he resumes his studies.
1786 Scott takes a position in his father’s firm; as a young apprentice , he travels to the Highlands on company business and is captivated by the area’s landscape and lore. Back in Edinburgh, he frequents literary salons and reads the works of French and Italian authors. Robert Burns, whom Scott meets briefly, publishes Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect.
1788 George III suffers his second bout of mental illness.
1789 Scott foregoes the profession of writer to the signet in favor of studying for the bar at Edinburgh University, where he also forms a poetry society. The French Revolution begins. William Blake’s Songs of Innocence is published.
1790 Edmund Burke writes Reflections on the Revolution in France. Scott falls passionately in love with Williamina Belches, the daughter of an aristocrat and advocate, Sir John Belches; her higher social position makes marriage unlikely.
1791 Thomas Paine publishes The Rights of Man.
1792 After passing his exams, Scott is admitted to the bar as an advocate and begins working in the provinces; he will draw heavily on this work for his 1824 novel Redgauntlet. He begins collecting love ballads that he will compile in later works. The works of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Gottfried August Burger spark Scott’s interest in German poems and literature.
1793 King Louis XVI is executed in France; the Reign of Terror begins.
1796 Scott is crushed to discover that Williamina Belches is engaged to another, much wealthier man.
1797 While on a visit to the Lake District, Scott meets Frenchborn Margaret Charlotte Charpentier. After a few weeks, Scott and Charlotte become engaged; they marry on December 24. His first publications, translations of Burger’s The Chase and William and Helen, appear anonymously. He publishes a translation of Goethe’s play Götz von Berlichingen that is not well received.
1798 Charlotte and Scott rent a house on Castle Street in Edinburgh . Based on the quality of his Burger translations, Scott is asked to contribute to an anthology of poetry, Tales of Terror, that will be published in 1800.