Many regard Sir Walter Scott as the first to write historical novels. György Lukács, in his "The Historical Novel", argues that Scott is the first fiction writer who saw history not just as a convenient frame in which to stage a contemporary narrative, but rather as a distinct social and cultural setting. His novels of Scottish history such as "Waverley" (1814) and "Rob Roy" (1817) focus upon a middling character who sits at the intersection of various social groups in order to explore the development of society through conflict. His "Ivanhoe" (1820) gains credit for renewing interest in the Middle Ages. 