Friday, October 30, 2015

Anne of Geierstein by Sir Walter Scott



The Plot




Romance and History









Jamie W. said...

I think the ones like this are the true test of whether a reader is appreciating Scott for what he really does best. If you enjoy Ivanhoe or Rob Roy, you're at the least a lover of Romance (in the adventurous sense) who has a good deal of patience. But if you also enjoy Anne of Geierstein and A Legend of Montrose, then you're truly appreciating not just the thrills, but the sense of history, insight into character, and wisdom about life that really characterize Scott. What else would keep the reader going through sentences like the one you quote?

(Or the one--I think it was in A Legend of Montrose--in which he described at some length the scenic view which his hero could have seen, had he been interested, but he was worrying about something else, so he wasn't, so he didn't.)

And yet it was a good book. It shows what a great writer he was in so many ways that his readers are willing to forgive him so much. (And oh, those prefaces and footnotes!)

Suzannah said...

Well, thank you, Jamie, that makes me feel very discerning. :) As a matter of fact I've come down with a tremendous urge to read simply enormous quantities of Scott, for the first time in years and years.

I skipped most of the prefaces and footnotes in ANNE, because I was reading the Project Gutenberg ebook and simply didn't have the patience to flip back and forth. But you're right, one really shouldn't. :D They're so good!

Joseph Jalsevac said...

I just read the first page of Quentin Durward again and it reminded me of the fact that language can taste good. Maybe I'll have a crack at the Fortunes of Nigel.

Jamie W. said...

The Fortunes of Nigel is not so good as Quentin Durward, in my opinion, but it's still good. Nigel is frustratingly irresponsible at times, but like so many of Scott's heroes, his character arc involves learning to be a decent steady ordinary person--not something you'll find in every historical adventure!

Suzannah said...

I have to admit, I don't remember anything about THE FORTUNES OF NIGEL except that it was terribly entertaining, had to do with James I, and I laughed like anything over the passage where Nigel gets all dolled up to go to court. :D


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