Walter Scott, whose biography is described in this article, is a world famous writer of Scottish descent. It is believed that he is the founder of a historical novel. Probably, in the educated world there are no people unfamiliar with his knight Aivengo or the story of Rob Roy.
Childhood and youth
Sir Walter was born in August 1771 in Edinburgh. His family was very prosperous and educated. Father - Walter John - was a lawyer. Mother - Anna Rutherford - was the daughter of a professor of medicine. The spouses had thirteen children. The writer was born ninth, but by the time he reached six months old, he had only three brothers and sisters left.
Walter Scott himself could have gone after the dead. A brief biography for children does not clarify this point. But in January 1772, the child became seriously ill. Doctors diagnosed childhood paralysis. Relatives were afraid that the baby would forever remain motionless, however, after long therapeutic manipulations, the doctors managed to put him on his feet. Unfortunately, mobility could not be fully restored, and Sir Walter remained lame for life.
Several times he had to undergo a long treatment for the consequences of an infant illness at resorts.
Most of his childhood was spent in the wonderful place of Sandinou, where his grandfather's farm was located.
At the age of seven, he returned to his parents in Edinburgh, and from 1779 began to attend school. His physical disability was more than replaced by a living mind and phenomenal memory.
After leaving school, Walter Scott, whose brief biography is very informative, enters the local college.
At this time, he begins to get involved in mountaineering, again because of health. Exercising helped the young man grow stronger and gain peer respect. He read a lot, paying particular attention to Scottish legends and ballads. Sir Walter learned the German language to better understand German poets, whose work was also fond of in his student years.
All as one his friends claimed that he was a wonderful storyteller, and prophesied him to be great writers. But Scott had a different goal: he wanted to get a law degree.
Career
This happened in 1792, when the future literary celebrity passed the exam at the university. He was awarded a diploma, and Walter Scott, whose biography is a confirmation of the success of the writer, opened his legal practice.
In 1791, Scott joins a discussion club, becoming his treasurer and secretary. Subsequently, he will give lectures there on the topics of parliamentary reforms and the immunity of judges.
For the first time, Scott advocated for criminal proceedings in 1793 in Jedburg.
Due to the nature of his work, Sir Walter spent little time in Edinburgh, traveled extensively around the county, taking part in various court cases. In 1795, he visited Galloway, where he acted as a lawyer for the accused.
He does not leave his passion for literature and brings a lot of folklore material, legends and local myths from every trip.
In the same 1795, the Edinburgh Bar Corporation elected him the custodian of the library, since Scott was the most competent in this matter.
The love of poetry and writing generally has almost no effect on Walter Scott's main work.
After the creation of the English militia - in 1796 - he enters the Royal Dragoon Regiment, where he is appointed quartermaster.
In 1799, Scott's legal articles began to be published in a local newspaper. In the same year he was appointed Selkirkshire sheriff.
In 1806, he was appointed successor to the court clerk in Edinburgh, J. Home. In 1812, after the death of the latter, Scott receives this position and an income of 1300 pounds per year. This work requires the writer to be present in court every day, but despite this, his passion for literature does not come to naught.
Poetic activity
Walter Scott, whose brief biography does not contain all the events from his interesting life, traveled a lot in search of ancient ballads and legends that he dreamed of publishing.
His own career as a writer began with translations. The first experience was the German poet Burger, whose poems (Lenore, Wild Hunter) he adapted for the inhabitants of the United Kingdom. Then there were Goethe and his poem "Goetz von Berlichingham".
In 1800, he wrote the first original ballad, "Ivan's Evening." In 1802, his dream came true - the publication "Songs of the Scottish Border" was published, in which all the collected folklore material was published.
Walter Scott, whose biography became interested in admirers of his work, became famous in an instant. From 1807 to 1815, he released many romantic works that glorified him as an innovator and genius of the lyric epic poem.
Prosaic way
Starting to write novels, Walter Scott doubted the success of this matter, although he was already known to the public. His first prose work , Waverly, was published in 1814. Not to say that it gained success and fame, but was highly appreciated by both critics and ordinary readers.
For a long time, Scott reflected on the genre in which to write his novels. The fact that they will be associated with history, the author had no doubt. But in order to be different from others and to bring something new to the literary world, he developed a completely new structure and thereby created the genre of a historical novel. In it, real personalities act only as a background and a reflection of an era, and fictional characters come to the fore, whose fate is influenced by historical events.
Walter Scott, whose biography and work are united by a love of the past, wrote twenty-eight novels in his life. This is an incredible work capacity of the writer, because the first novel was published when he was already forty-two years old!
Until 1819, Scott writes works with a sharp socio-historical orientation. For example, "Puritans" (about the uprising against the Stuart dynasty), "Rob Roy" (about the Scottish Robin Hood), etc.
After the theme of his works is expanding significantly. If earlier the writer was interested only in Scottish history, now he turns to events in England and France (“Aivengo”, “Quentin Dorward”).
Starting in the 1820s, Walter Scott, whose biography will subsequently become an inspiration for many writers, has published a number of historical works (The History of Scotland, Napoleon Bonaparte's Life).
For his country, he became a hero. Walter Scott, a biography whose work was of great importance to the Scots, made the whole world know the history of his homeland thanks to his writings.
Ivanhoe
For the Russian reader, the most significant in the bibliography of the writer is his novel "Aivengo." It takes place at school, they are read to the boys, dreaming of the glory of a knight, and romantic girls, longing for love.
Already in the nineteenth century, this novel was recognized as a classic of literature. The circulation and speed of selling books for that time was simply phenomenal.
The attention of the novel is drawn exclusively to English culture. The author describes the events occurring during the reign of Richard the First. The plot was based on the struggle between the Saxons and the Normans.
The book was four times filmed and twice adapted for opera.
The death of a writer
Walter Scott's life was incredibly eventful, successful and, no doubt, happy. But poor health and a complete lack of rest made themselves felt.
In 1830, after an apoplexy stroke , the writer’s hand was paralyzed. And on September 21, 1832, a heart attack occurred, which claimed the life of Sir Walter.
Personal life
Walter Scott, whose full biography will be described shortly after the death of the writer, was a faithful and respectable man. He fell in love twice in his life. This first happened in 1791. It was Villamina Belshes, daughter of a lawyer from Edinburgh. But she preferred a banker to him.
In 1796, Scott met the Frenchwoman Charlotte Charpentier, whom she married a year later. The spouses had four children (Sofia, Walter, Anna, Charles).
Interesting Facts
- The first novels of the author were published anonymously, and then under the pseudonym Waverley.
- The writer got most of his encyclopedic knowledge on his own, for this he should have read the book all once, which once again confirms the fact of his excellent memory.
- It was Scott who coined the term “freelancer,” using it in the novel “Aivengo.”