Providing a brief account of the life of Sir Walter Scott, this text charts his development as a poet and novelist, and justifies his claims to attention as a major 19th century novelist and a seminal influence on later writers.

Sir Walter Scott enjoyed a popularity and fame second to no other writer in his lifetime. This book attempts to give an account of his life and to chart his development as a poet and novelist, and to justify his claims to attention as a major 19th century novelist and a seminal influence on later writers.

Hugh MacDiarmid hailed William Dunbar (1461?-1520?) as "in many ways the most modern, as he is the most varied, of Scottish poets". His verve, wit, metrical skill, malice and elegiac power made him one of the great poets of the 15th century, and a defining Scottish poet of all time. Although he was a priest for most of his adult life, Dunbar saw himself as a professional writer and took an outspoken pride in his craft, never failing to remind the king, his employer, of the unwisdom of neglecting to reward poets. Close to the European traditions of Francois Villon and troubadour lyrics, and inheriting the vigorous rhythms of Piers Plowman, Dunbar revitalised the conventions of medieval poetry, excelling in his mastery of the short satirical and lyrical poem. He can be bawdy, savage and romantic. Above all, more than any other poet of his time, Dunbar speaks directly in a voice that is vivid and challenging. This fully annotated edition makes the richness of Dunbar's language accessible to the modern reader.