Rob Roy

<b> <blockquote>”No truth in plaids, no faith in tartan trews,<br>Camelion-like, they change a thousand hues.”</blockquote> </b><br><br><a href="https://s1183.photobucket.com/user/jkeeten/media/Frank20Osbaldistone_zpsy3swcapx.jpg.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener"> <img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1535847294i/26238356.jpg" alt=" photo Frank20Osbaldistone_zpsy3swcapx.jpg" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> </a><br><br>I remember when I was taking a Jane Austen survey class in college that while doing some research I came across this great quote she wrote about Walter Scott as a novelist. <i>“Walter Scott has no business to write novels, especially good ones. — It is not fair. — He has fame and profit enough as a poet, and should not be taking the bread out of other people’s mouths. — I do not like him, and do not mean to like Waverley if I can help it — but fear I must.”</i> Now when I shared the quote with the class, as part of my attempt to verbally contribute to discussion, it went over like a lead balloon. It took me a few seconds to realize that no one knew who Walter Scott was, except for the professor who luckily bailed me out by explaining that Scott wrote the book that inspired the movie <i>Rob Roy (1995)</i>. <br><br>I’ve always liked that quote because it is a bit flirty and full of mock indignation. If I were Scott and I heard that quote, I’d have a little grin on my face for at least an afternoon. <br><br>Now, you might presume that Rob Roy is the hero of this novel, after all the book has a title bearing his name. You would be mistaken. The hero of this tale is none other than Frank Osbaldistone. This name does not inspire thoughts of a dashing or romantic figure. The name alone might keep a woman from thinking him marriageable material. He has another problem, though; he...thinks...he is a poet. Few can be a Walter Scott or a Lord Byron, capable of writing poetry well enough to exchange verse for shillings in quantities sizeable enough to keep one in food and shelter. <br><br><a href="https://s1183.photobucket.com/user/jkeeten/media/a0efa69e-0e0e-4123-aa2a-9e331c8a4ab8_zpseajyq81h.png.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener"> <img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1535847294i/26238357._SY540_.png" alt=" photo a0efa69e-0e0e-4123-aa2a-9e331c8a4ab8_zpseajyq81h.png" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> </a><br><b>The dashing Rob Roy</b><br><br>Frank’s father is a self-made man. He has built a merchant empire from the sweat of his brow and by deftly managing his money. He wants Frank to learn the business with the thought that he will eventually take over. Frank is brimming with poetic verse. He can’t imagine himself shackled to the life of a merchant. <br><br><b>There are words. Blippity blip ungrateful kid blippity blip dab blast it.</b> <br><br>Frank is shipped off to the ancestral Osbaldistone home to be exchanged for one of his cousins who will help with his father’s business. Many will think it is admirable that Frank decided to follow his passions, while all I wanted to do was give him a good shake. If I’d known the extent of the trouble his decision was going to cause, I would have turned that shake into a full on strangle. <br><br>In Northumberland, he meets the Scotsman Andrew Fairservice who becomes his less than loyal companion. Andrew is incapable of giving anything resembling fair service. He is a fool and, worse, a coward. He does add some spice to the novel with his Scottish brogue. <i>”Now, sir, it’s as muckle as your life’s worth---that wad be dear o’ little siller to be sure---but it is muckle as a’ our lives are worth, if ye dinna mind what I say to ye. In this public whar we are gaun to, and whar it is like we may hae to stay a’ night, men o’ a’ clans and kindred---Hieland, and Lawland---tak up their quarters. ---And whiles three are mair drawn dirks than open Bibles amang them when the usquebaugh gets uppermost. See ye neither meddle nor mak, nor gie nae offence wi’ that clavering tongue o’ yours, but keep a calm sough, and let ilka cock fight his ain battle.”</i><br><br>Frank’s cousin Rashleigh is the most like Frank among his relations. He reads. He can recognize a sonnet when he see it. He is, unfortunately, odiously ambitious. He is one of those men who could use his extraordinary brain to help so many others, but chooses through malicious gossip, nefarious underhanded deals, and political intrigue to raise himself up at the expense of others. He is a perfectly conceived villain who readers take pleasure in rooting against. <br><br>Rob Roy shows up about half way through the novel, when Frank has to take a trip to Glasgow. He is the man going PSST! from behind the church pillar or the disembodied voice from the bushes, who continues to offer cryptic, incomplete advice to Frank. <br><br>The beautiful Diana Vernon, another cousin of Frank, is the love interest. She is mysteriously unattainable due to obligations previously arranged by her father. It became kind of comical for me as the plot advances that at three different times she protests that Frank...must never see her again, but the daffy woman just keeps showing up. <br><br><a href="https://s1183.photobucket.com/user/jkeeten/media/HelenMacGregor_zpstqxbsw45.jpg.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener"> <img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1535847294i/26238355._SY540_.jpg" alt=" photo HelenMacGregor_zpstqxbsw45.jpg" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> </a><br><b>Helen MacGregor</b><br><br>The description of the only other woman in the book is of Rob Roy’s wife, Helen. I thought, in a few sentences, Scott gave me a complete, majestic picture of the woman. <i>”She might be between the term of forty and fifty years, and had a countenance which must once have been of a masculine cast of beauty; though now, imprinted with deep lines by exposure to rough weather, and perhaps by the wasting influence of grief and passion, its features were only strong, harsh, and expressive. She wore her plaid, not drawn around her head and shoulders, as is the fashion of women in Scotland, but disposed around her body as Highland soldiers wear theirs. She had a man’s bonnet, with a feather in it, an unsheathed sword in her hand, and a pair of pistols at her girdle.”</i> <br><br><b>She was a woman not to be trifled with.</b><br><br>Robert Louis Stevenson, the author who made me fall in love with reading, has stated that Rob Roy was his favorite Walter Scott novel. I’m not sure, given his recommendation, what has taken me so long to read the book. Scott gets a hard knock for being difficult to read, but after a few chapters, I found the rhythm of the book. As the plot advances or should I say when Rob Roy and his Highlanders show up, the pages start to turn faster. Though Andrew’s speeches look like gobblygook, if you sound them out the English words, lost from easy comprehension due to the missing letters, they start to shimmer into readable sentences. The edition I had included a handy glossary defining words not readily known in English. I found this extremely useful. <br><br>This book is best read under the slight influence of usquebaugh, but keep your dirk planted upright in the table near to hand, in case any lowlanders decide to make free with their mouths. Those bloody bastards don’t understand: <b>“Honour is what no man can give you, and none can take away. Honour is a man's gift to himself.”</b> And don’t let anyone...ever... step on yer tartan. <br><br>If you wish to see more of my most recent book and movie reviews, visit <a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="http://www.jeffreykeeten.com">http://www.jeffreykeeten.com</a><br>I also have a Facebook blogger page at:<a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://www.facebook.com/JeffreyKeeten">https://www.facebook.com/JeffreyKeeten</a>

A blood 'n thunder historical romance/ and a sword 'n sabre swashbuckling yarn, set during the bloody era of Bonnie Prince Charlie and his Highland Jacobites - by none other than the original Great Scott! <br /><br />And, I might add, THE Greatest Scottish Novelist.<br /><br />Why, then, did he want to write a book about a gigantic STING (ie, Swindle, as in the classic Robert Redford flick)? <br /><br />Easy.<br /><br />Scott had been recently stung himself - out of ALL his ripe retirement Nest Egg. <br /><br />Ouch.<br /><br />So what did he do? Roll over and play dead? Not on your life....<br /><br />He put his immense literary talents to industrious work - until, once again, his family was very comfortable. His wife and kids, when he died, were now set for life. <br /><br />Just like President Grant did for his family, as a now-indigent investor - another swindle - after the Civil War... <br /><br />He Wrote.<br /><br />Well, it worked for both men in Spades. And this book shows why it worked for Scott...<br /><br />Francis is a Young Dreamer - unlike his evil cousin Rashleigh, who only wants to fleece Francis' side of the family of their vast fortune. Francis' rather naive mission - should he choose to accept it, and show his Dad he's not a bum - is to find out why the family's fortune is vanishing.<br /><br />But all he'll find in uncivilized Scotland is traces of Rashleigh's "double, double, toil and trouble!" Oh, and a Burning Birth of Young Love in himself - for Rashleigh's virtuous Catholic sister.<br /><br />Will Francis shine in his dire assignment? Will he save his Dad's good name from the deep blue opprobrium of bankruptcy? And - most important - will his ladylove find him every inch as dashing in the end as he dreams he could be?<br /><br />The Struggle will prove Hideously Real - but, in the end, Successful.<br /><br />So if you liked The Three Musketeers and Lord of the Rings, try this more realistic daredevil romance!<br /><br />It's guaranteed to keep you turning its ancient pages to the end, when<br /><br />All shall be well,<br />And all manner of things will be well.

The protagonist in the novel Rob Roy is Francis Osbaldistone (an unappealing moniker) not the title character! The famous criminal, he was a cattle thief has been written about many times before but who has ever heard of this man , ( makes a better name, Rob Roy too). Francis a spoiled son of a rich London businessman, who would rather write poetry than work for his father, lets say he is kind of indolent; no doubt, he was learning in France not about his merchant father's business but writing verses which angered the elder Mr. Osbaldstone. Sent to his uncle's estate as punishment in northern England bordering simmering Scotland that nation is always that.He soon becomes involved in a feud with his cousin the treacherous Rashleigh (youngest and smartest of six brothers) no family love between the two, only relatives could hate this deeply and for so long . A woman, beautiful Diana is quite a prize , the main reason (isn't it always in these books) this makes the situation more interesting, conflicts cause tension which brings a certain degree of curiosity to the gripping narrative.This being the long ago year 1715, a revolt soon brakes out, the brutal Jacobite uprising, Rashleigh steals important papers from Francis's trusting father, (he took over our hero's job) if they aren't recovered, the family will be ruined the usual plot device, still works even today . Osbaldistone finally wakes up and seeks the help of Rob Roy,(remember him?) he is a notorious outlaw. The bloody (the English love that word) conclusion occurs at the ancient Osbaldistone Hall. Sir Walter Scott a very sophisticated, intelligent, underappreciated man once the most popular writer in the world deserves a new renaissance, his books should be read and they will be enjoyed...I did.

This is an interesting historical swashbuckling tale in the Waverley series. Set amidst the Jacobite Rebellion of 1715, it brings the story of the young Francis Osbaldistone, who, having fallen out with his father for refusing to be a partner in his business, is sent to his uncle's estate in Northumberland in exchange for a son of him to replace his position. There in Northumberland, he unwittingly embroils himself in the political intrigues in the wake of the Jacobite uprising. Francis is a naive hero, whose good heart and straightforward principles are insufficient armaments to combat the cunning and treachery carried against him. His adventures, coupled with true historical events, form the story. <br /><br />The story is a fast-paced gripping adventure with a set of unique characters. The diversity of the characters heavily contributes to the enjoyment of this simple storyline. While many of them arrested my attention, including the titular character Rob Roy (who was a true historical character, who Scott calls the Scottish Robin Hood), it is the courageous female heroine, Diana Vernon, that touched me the most. It was a pleasant novelty. There was also a clear-cut villain in the story proving the saying that it is not a stranger but someone who is close to you that would be your worst enemy. <br /><br />It was truly an enjoyable story. I've always been a fan of swashbuckling historical fiction, so it's no surprise that I was immediately connected with it. With its good pace, fine storyline, and interesting characters, <i>Rob Roy</i> is a balanced product.

<i>A famous man is Robin Hood, <br />The English ballad-singer’s joy! <br />And Scotland has a thief as good, <br />An outlaw of as daring mood; <br />She has her brave Rob Roy!<br />~Wordsworth</i><br /><br />This may be my favorite Scott novel yet! The first half of the book was far from what I expected, being focused on the experiences of Francis Osbaldistone, a young Englishman with poetical inclinations, who refuses to work in his father's business. Nevertheless, the story was extremely interesting. I loved and heartily sympathized with Diana Vernon, and Rashleigh was a villain who distinctly reminded me of Shakespeare's Richard III, even before the resemblance was mentioned! I honestly couldn't imagine how the story was eventually going to lead to the Scottish Highlands and Rob Roy, but it did, and it was... great! Once again, Scott's ability to make his characters so interesting and real utterly amazed me. I loved the Bailie, and the scene where he gets stuck hanging upside-down during the battle with the Highlanders had me laughing at odd times for the rest of the day! ?<br /><br />As a young man, Scott interviewed several people who had known Rob Roy, and he revisited the scenes where this novel was set before writing it. His descriptions of the scenery, as always, are vivid and beautiful. It was also interesting to learn that at the time he wrote this, he was suffering intensely from gallstones. It just fills me with awe that he was able to write such a great story in spite of that! ?

This book was death. And it wouldn't end. I just could not get past the language in two ways:<br /><br />(1) Get to the point. Sir Walter Scott apparently decided that there is no reason to use one word when five will suffice. For instance, rather than saying that a character was hungry because he ate lunch earlier than usual Scott notes instead that the character was hungry because "he had ante-dated his meridian repast, having dined at twelve instead of one o'clock, then the general hour of dining." Honestly, reading this book was like listening to a preacher describe prom -- you may get the story, but not the way you want to hear it.<br /><br />(2) Scottish isn't English. I had high hopes that my Scottish blood would somehow instill in me to the ability to understand what in the world the Scottish characters were saying. No such luck. It's no fun to read a book in which half the dialogue looks like it was typed by a pre-schooler.<br /><br />At any rate, for my two cents, if you want to read Scott, read Ivanhoe -- skip this one.

Walter Scott's most popular book along with Ivanhoe and the reason for this I think is obvious, especially to those who - like me - have read more than two books of his. Not that his other books are less good, and that this book is so much exceptional, is just that all the elements that make the great writer's books stand out, his romanticism, his witty writing, the alternation of funny and dramatic moments, the creation of distinctive characters, the restrained emotional tension, his distinct look at people's thoughts and attitudes are present here in their clearest form, both in the field of creating an exciting story. as in the ideas he tries to express.<br /><br />The hero of our story - who is not Rob Roy - is the son of a merchant, the descendant of an aristocratic Catholic family - though he is a Protestant himself. After years of studying, he is called upon to take over the family business but his romantic soul makes him look with aversion the possibility to go through the rest of his life with numbers and products and refuses this position believing he can make a career in literature and poetry. His father, believing that this is just an impulse, sends him to spend a while with his brother's family in North England, where everything is all the opposite of thing he was accustomed to. From the busy London of trade and Protestant rigour, he is transported to the quiet countryside dominated by less useful occupations such as hunting, relaxed mood and the rhythms of the old religion. There he meets two people whose contribution will turn out to be decisive: the beautiful, charming, witty and fascinating Diana - not at all a random choice the name - and his intelligent, ambitious and particularly suspect cousin. The unconventional Diana that combines all the ingredients of feminine charm with an almost masculine passion moves the hero's interest and love does not lag behind, but the things that separates them is too much - with most of their derive from her loyalty in the Catholic religion - and so this love does not seem to have a prospect, which causes him great sorrow. Accordingly, his cousin moves his interest with his deepest education, but he quickly begins to suspect that behind this mask are hidden many bad things and quickly these suspicions are confirmed and the troubles begin.<br /><br />These troubles eventually lead him to the deeply divided Scotland of the era just before the 1715 Jacobite uprising. This division extends to many issues such as religion, the relationship with England, the way of governance, and many more that shows a great mentality difference. The division between the Lowlands of strict Protestantism, close relationship with England, modern, strong central government and extroversion, and the Highlands of Catholicism, independence and traditional power relations are more than obvious, and the controversy over the British throne make the explosion inevitable. Throughout this, our hero tries to solve his own affairs with the help of the legendary Highland outlaw Rob Roy MacGregor. This journey into the wild and romantic landscape of the Highlands and the familiarity with the unusual lifestyle of the region that is threatened is the best part of this book and complements it ideally, driving the story to the most exciting and passionate routes and the very moving ending.<br /><br />From what I write you understand that the author does not change his very successful recipe, with a story that has much in common with the previous books, sharing the same background. What is changing is the way he is using this recipe, choosing the most direct and straightforward approach that was aiming directly at the heart of the reader. The author leaves his romanticism free, is carried away with his love for the natural scenery of Scotland and North England, and carrying us with him, is inspired by the power of love, gets nostalgic for a more emotional era where people loved and fought with the same intensity and in the end warns of the coming of an era when the cowardice and selfishness are its main features. With all this, how can I not love this book?<br /><br />Το δημοφιλέστερο βιβλίο του Walter Scott μαζί με τον Ιβανόη και ο λόγος για αυτό νομίζω ότι είναι ολοφάνερος, ειδικά σε αυτούς που - όπως εγώ - έχουν διαβάσει περισσότερα από δύο βιβλία του. Όχι πως τα άλλα βιβλία του είναι λιγότερο καλά και πώς αυτό εδώ ξεχωρίζει τόσο πολύ, απλά όλα τα στοιχεία που κάνουν τα βιβλία του σπουδαίου συγγραφέα να ξεχωρίζουν, ο ρομαντισμός, η πανέξυπνη γραφή του, η εναλλαγή αστείων και δραματικών στιγμών, η δημιουργία ξεχωριστών χαρακτήρων, η συγκρατημένη συναισθηματική ένταση, η ξεχωριστή ματιά στις σκέψεις και τη νοοτροπία των ανθρώπων βρίσκονται στην πιο ξεκάθαρη μορφή τους, τόσο στον τομέα της δημιουργίας μιας συναρπαστικής ιστορίας. όσο στις ιδέες που προσπαθεί να εκφράσει.<br /><br />Ο ήρωας της ιστορίας μας - που μάλλον δεν είναι ο Rob Roy - είναι ο γιος ενός εμπόρου, απόγονος μιας αριστοκρατικής καθολικής οικογένειας - αν και ο ίδιος είναι προτεστάντης. Μετά από χρόνια σπουδών καλείται να αναλάβει την οικογενειακή επιχείρηση αλλά η ρομαντική ψυχή του τον κάνει να βλέπει με αποστροφή το ενδεχόμενο να περάσει την υπόλοιπη ζωή του μέσα σε αριθμούς και αρνείται αυτή τη θέση πιστεύοντας ότι μπορεί να κάνει μία καριέρα στη λογοτεχνία και την ποίηση. Ο πατέρας του πιστεύοντας ότι αυτή είναι απλά μία παρόρμηση τον στέλνει να περάσει λίγο καιρό με την οικογένεια του αδερφού του στη Βόρεια Αγγλία, όπου εκεί είναι όλα το αντίθετο από ότι έχει συνηθίσει. Από το πολύβουο Λονδίνο του εμπορίου και της προτεσταντικής αυστηρότητας μεταφέρεται στην ήσυχη επαρχία που κυριαρχείται από λιγότερο χρήσιμες ασχολίες όπως το κυνήγι, την χαλαρή διάθεση και τους ρυθμούς της παλιάς θρησκείας. Εκεί συναντάει δύο ανθρώπους που η συνεισφορά τους θα αποδειχθεί καθοριστική στη συνέχεια: την όμορφη, γοητευτική, πνευματώδη και συναρπαστική Diana - καθόλου τυχαία η επιλογή του ονόματος - και τον ευφυή, φιλόδοξο και ιδιαίτερα ύποπτο ξάδερφό του. Η αντισυμβατική Diana που συνδυάζει όλα τα συστατικά της γυναικείας γοητείας με ένα σχεδόν αρρενωπό πάθος κινεί το ενδιαφέρον του ήρωα μας και ο έρωτας δεν αργεί να ακολουθήσει, αυτά που τους χωρίζουν, όμως, είναι πάρα πολλά - με τα περισσότερα να πηγάζουν από την αφοσίωση της στην καθολική θρησκεία - και έτσι αυτός ο έρωτας δεν φαίνεται να έχει προοπτική, κάτι που του προκαλεί μεγάλη λύπη. Αντίστοιχα του κινεί το ενδιαφέρον ο ξάδερφος του με τη βαθύτατη μόρφωσή του αλλά γρήγορα αρχίζει να υποψιάζεται ότ�� πίσω από αυτή τη μάσκα κρύβονται πολλά άσχημα πράγματα και αυτές οι υποψίες δεν αργούν να επιβεβαιωθούν και οι μπελάδες αρχίζουν.<br /><br />Αυτά τα μπερδέματα τον οδηγούν τελικά στη βαθύτατα διχασμένη Σκωτία της εποχής λίγο πριν από την εξέγερση των Ιακωβιτών του 1715. Αυτός ο διχασμός εκτείνεται σε πολλά θέματα όπως η θρησκεία, η σχέση με την Αγγλία, ο τρόπος διακυβέρνησης αλλά και πολλά άλλα μου δείχνουν μία μεγάλη διαφορά νοοτροπίας. Ο διχασμός ανάμεσα στα Lowlands του αυστηρού προτεσταντισμού, της στενής σχέσης με την Αγγλία, της σύγχρονης ισχυρής κεντρικής διακυβέρνησης και της εξωστρέφειας και στα Highlands του καθολικισμού, της ανεξαρτησίας και των παραδοσιακών σχέσεων εξουσίας είναι κάτι παραπάνω από εμφανής και η διαμάχη για τον βρετανικό θρόνο κάνει την έκρηξη αναπόφευκτη. Μέσα σε όλα αυτά ο ήρωας μας προσπαθεί να λύσει τις δικές του υποθέσεις με τη βοήθεια του θρυλικού παράνομου των Highlands Rob Roy MacGregor. Αυτή η πορεία στο άγριο και ρομαντικό τοπίο των Highlands και η γνωριμία με τον ασυνήθιστο τρόπο ζωής της περιοχής που απειλείται αποτελεί το καλύτερο κομμάτι αυτού του βιβλίου και το συμπληρώνει ιδανικά, οδηγώντας την ιστορία στις πιο συναρπαστικές και παθιασμένες διαδρομές και στη πολύ συγκινητική κατάληξη.<br /><br />Από αυτά που γράφω καταλαβαίνετε ότι συγγραφέας δεν αλλάζει την πολύ επιτυχημένη συνταγή του, με την ιστορία που έχει πολλά κοινά στοιχεία με τα προηγούμενα βιβλία, με τα οποία μοιράζεται το ίδιο φόντο. Αυτό που αλλάζει είναι ο τρόπος που την χρησιμοποιεί, επιλέγοντας την πιο ευθεία και άμεση προσέγγιση που στοχεύει κατευθείαν στην καρδιά του αναγνώστη. Ο συγγραφέας αφήνει ελεύθερο τον ρομαντισμό του, παρασύρεται από την αγάπη του για το φυσικό τοπίο της Σκωτίας και της Βόρειας Αγγλίας παρασέρνοντας και εμάς, εμπνέεται από τη δύναμη του έρωτα, νοσταλγεί μία περισσότερο συναισθηματική εποχή όπου οι άνθρωποι αγαπούσαν και πολεμούσαν με την ίδια ένταση και στο τέλος προειδοποιεί για την έλευση μιας πεζής εποχής όπου η δειλία και η ιδιοτέλεια είναι τα κύρια χαρακτηριστικά της. Με όλα αυτά πώς είναι δυνατόν να μη λατρέψω αυτό το βιβλίο;

Another classic Scottish historical read very well written and documented on the tale of the outlaw who was made a hero

Rob Roy is a far pithier title than the name of the protagonist in this story, Francis Osbaldistone, the spoiled, romantic son of an English merchant, a bit of a dunce, and an unlikely hero. This is a riot of a novel filled with wit and sly humour. The characters are distinct, colourful, and vividly portrayed. The 1715 Jacobite uprising is brewing, and political and social tensions are reaching a peak. This tale has it all: adventure, mystery, intrigue, betrayal, romance, a dastardly villain, and, of course, the heroic Rob Roy. Diana, the love interest, is certainly the most interesting character in the story and arguably one of the best heroines in classic literature. What I love about this novel is that it is a beautifully rendered travelogue of Scotland, and Sir Walter Scott’s deep, abiding love for the land is evident in his lyrical, breathtaking descriptions of this wild, majestic land.

The Wikipedia article for this book describes part of the plot as " In between hours in the library with Die, he converses with Andrew Fairservice and learns much about goings on at the Hall."<br /><br />It does feel like hours, even when reading. The characters discuss politics, the situation, love, life, business, etc'. At great length.<br /><br />As usual with Scott, the protagonist is rather colourless, the villain is a good deal more sympathetic and interesting, and earns his just desserts by the end. Hoping these desserts would be tastier than Scott usually tends towards, you will be severely disappointed.<br /><br />Really, the main problem with the book is that it is rather dull. There is a good chance that I simply overwhelmed myself with too much Victoriana lately, but it was almost a chore to plough through, and the heavy uninterpreted Scottish really didn't help matters. Realistic? Yes. Incomprehensible? Also yet. I kept wondering whether I had missed something pertinent to plot, but I really should have known better.