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31 matches in All Departments
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Woodstock (Hardcover, New Ed)
Walter Scott; Edited by Tony Inglis, J.H. Alexander, David Hewitt, Alison Lumsden
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R3,751
Discovery Miles 37 510
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Ships in 10 - 15 working days
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Woodstock opens in farce, yet it is one of Scott's darkest novels.
It deals with revolution, to Scott the most disturbing of all
subjects: 'it appears that every step we made towards liberty, has
but brought us in view of more terrific perils'. Written during the
financial crisis which led to his insolvency in January 1826, the
novel, Scott feared, 'would not stand the test'. Yet it does: it is
set in England in 1651 as Parliamentary forces hunt the fugitive
Charles Stewart who days previously had been defeated at Worcester.
In the superb portrait of Cromwell we see a self-torturing despot
who attempts to be in full control in the name of religion; in the
rakish Charles we see a man without self-reflection whose own
libertarianism after his restoration to the English throne in 1660
permitted a great burgeoning in scientific enquiry and the arts.
This edition of Woodstock is based on the first, but emended in the
light of readings in the manuscript and proofs that were misread,
and at times deliberately suppressed, as Scott's own hand-written
words were turned into a printed book.
Rob Roy is set in 1715, but it is less concerned with the Jacobite
Rising than with the economic and political conditions which
brought it about, and the remarkable entrepreneurial spirit of the
new Hanoverian capitalists which resisted it. It celebrates the
freebooting daring of the hero's father in the City of London and
the robust balancing of generosity and selfish calculation which is
required in successful enterprise, and which motivates one of
Scott's most lively creations, the Glasgow merchant Baillie Nicol
Jarvie. Rob Roy is nominally a retrospective autobiography written
by Frank Osbaldistone and is suffused with a sense of loss both
personal and cultural. The personal is the loss of his wife Diana;
the cultural is epitomised in Rob Roy who is the hunted victim of a
society richer and more powerful than his own. The text is based
upon the first edition, corrected with readings from the
manuscript, and is supported by comprehensive historical and
explanatory annotation.
The Heart of Mid-Lothian is precisely focused on the trials for
murder of John Porteous and of Effie Deans in 1736 and 1737. Yet it
is a chronicle--Scott's only chronicle--which spans the eighty
years of the life of David Deans, whose death takes place in 1751.
It is the most complex of all Scott's narratives. It is also the
most challenging in that it raises in an acute fashion the problem
of a judicial system that does not produce justice. Scott places
this fundamental issue in its immediate political context, in
history as represented by the life of Deans, and alongside the
justice of Providence as perceived by his daughter Jeanie, the
greatest of Scott's heroines. This edition of The Heart of
Mid-Lothian provides a new text established in accordance with the
tried policies and practices of the Edinburgh Edition of the
Waverley Novels, and in its annotation treats comprehensively the
novel's historical, legal, religious and cultural sources.
In 1810 a literary phenomenon swept through Britain, Europe and
beyond: the publication of Sir Walter Scott's epic poem The Lady of
the Lake, set in the wild romantic landscape around Loch Katrine
and the Trossachs. The world's first international blockbusting
bestseller, in terms of sheer publishing sensation nothing like it
was seen until the Harry Potter books. Exploring the potent appeal
that links books, places, authors and readers, this collection of
eleven essays examines tourism in the Trossachs both before and
after 1810, and surveys the indigenous Gaelic culture of the area.
It also considers how Sir Walter's writings responded to the
landscape, history and literature of the region, and traces his
impact on the tourists, authors and artists who thronged in his
wake.
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The Betrothed (Hardcover)
Walter Scott; Edited by J B Ellis, J.H. Alexander, David Hewitt
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R2,629
Discovery Miles 26 290
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Ships in 12 - 17 working days
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Set at the time of the Third Crusade (1189 - 92), The Betrothed is
the first of Scott's Tales of the Crusaders. The betrothed is
Eveline, daughter of a Norman noble, who is a victim of the Crusade
in that her intended husband is required by the Church to fulfil
his vow to join the war and departs for three years. The full
horror of an arranged marriage, and of being a possible prize as
men seek to gain possession of her is vividly realised--the heroine
is never free; her fate is always determined by the agency of men.
And being set on the Marches of Wales, it is not just men but
differing cultures that strive for mastery over her. The Betrothed
is a problem novel: as Scott was writing he himself was arranging
the marriage of his elder son. It is a problem novel too in that it
was deeply disliked by Scott's printer and publisher who forced
significant changes. What Scott was required to do to meet their
objections has been confronted for the first time in this, the
first critical edition of the novel.
The third of the Waverley Novels is dominated by two old men,
Jonathan Oldbuck (the Antiquary of the title) and the beggar Edie
Ochiltree. Together they apply their knowledge of the past to sort
out the confusion of the present, and in doing so restore the
fortunes of ancient houses. This was Scott's favourite among his
novels, and presents a quizzical and amusing view of the profession
of history and, by implication, of Scott's own practice as writer
and collector.
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The Talisman (Hardcover)
Walter Scott; Edited by J B Ellis, J.H. Alexander; Peter Garside, David Hewitt
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R3,564
Discovery Miles 35 640
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Ships in 10 - 15 working days
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The second of "Tales of the Crusaders," "The Talisman" is set in
Palestine during the Third Crusade (1189 - 92). Scott constructs a
story of chivalric action, apparently adopting a medieval romance
view of the similarities in the values of both sides. But disguise
is the leading theme of the tale: it is not just that characters
frequently wear clothing that conceals their identity, but that
professions and cultures hide their true nature.
In this novel the Christian leaders are divided by a factious
criminality, and are contrasted to the magnanimity and decisiveness
of Saladin, the leader of the Moslem armies. In a period when the
west was fascinated with the exotic east, Scott represents the
Moslem other as more humane than the Christian west.
"The Talisman" is one of Scott's great novels. It is a superb
tale. It is also a bold departure as, for the first time, Scott
explores not cultural conflict within a country or society but in
the opposition of two world religions.
Do You Struggle With Staying Focused? Do you want to be able to
concentrate better? Do you struggle with lack of focus and
procrastination starts to settle in? Are you looking to increase
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productivity and efficiency increase dramatically allowing you to
laser in on tasks. Within this book's pages, you will find the
answers to these questions and more. Just some of the questions and
topics include: *Mental Exercises to Boost Concentration* *Methods
for Improving Learning Capacity* *Various Techniques to Improve
Your Learning* *How To Improve Your Memory* *10 Tips Specifically
For Concentration at Work* This book breaks training down into
easy-to-understand modules. It starts from the very beginning of
the science of concentration and how to improve it, so you can get
great results - and be less distracted!
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