una vita, una storia – Sir Walter Scott

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W. Scott’s life was a sort of old romance He was born in Edinburgh in 1771; his parents were descendants from the chiefs of famous border-clans. At the High School in Edinburgh he studied Humanity, Greek and Latin at the University of Edinburgh where he received the first influences of Romantic Literature in German (Goethe and Götz Von Berlichingen) and decided to write a picture of the ancient borders. Scott made  apprenticeship by his father, an attorney, then he returned to the University and this time he attended courses on Scots Law and Moral Philosophy. In 1797 he married Charlotte Charpentier, daughter of French exiled and became Sheriff of Selkirkshire. In 1802 he started his career as a writer, his first novel was The Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border.

Between 1805 and 1810 W. Scott planned a financial association with J. Ballantyne, printer and then publisher, a co-operation that influenced his career.To this period belonged his narrative poems: The Lay of Last Minstrel; Marmion; The Lady of the Lake.  After this literary production he passed on to prose.

In 1812 the writer bought a land near Melrose and built the house of Abbottsford, living like a Scottish feudal laird (lord), according to his ambitions.

In 1815 Scott started his literary production of novel based on the Scottish history. (The Waverly Cycle;  Guy Mannering;  The Antiquary;  Old Mortality; Rob Roy; The Bride of Lammermore; The Legend of Montrose). He wrote  these works anonymously till 1827 because he considered writing novels beneath his dignity. In 1820 he got fame with Ivanhoe about English History and was made baronet by George IV. In the same year the author wrote The Monastery.

His production went on with Kenilworth;  The Fortunes of Nigel;  Quentin Durward;  Redgauntlet;  The Talisman. Unfortunately his association bankrupted and had to work for his creditors, an effort that influenced his health.  He wrote Woodstock and The Fair Maid of Perth (published in 1828). His health rapidly declined and he sailed to Italy, but he had the first paralytic stroke. Nevertheless he continued writing Count Robert of Paris and Castle Dangerous.

In 1832 Walter Scott became completely invalid and then died in Abbottsford.

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