:: ISWSW, day one!!! ::

today is the first day of ISWSW, and I am so excited. because I get to talk about sir walter scott for a very long time, both of which things I love (sir walter and talking). 

and in case you've forgotten, ISWSW stands for international sir walter scott week. try to keep it in mind, since acronyms are useless if you have to literally spell them out every time (thanks).

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first things first; let's get introduced.

walter scott was born august 15th, 1771, in edinburgh, scotland. as a child, he lived with his paternal grandparents, where his aunt jenny sparked his interest in old scottish legends and the oral storytelling traditions of the scottish border. scott went to the university of edinburgh and trained to be a lawyer; but by age 25 he was translating others' books, and by age 32 he was publishing his own: the minstrelsy of the scottish border was the first walter scott book to be in print.

scott's first novel, waverley, was published in 1814, and, of course, the rest is history. he wrote constantly over the next 15 years, with varying degrees of success, but ever-increasing popularity -- despite the fact that the books were published anonymously. [this is an interesting article about his efforts to stay unknown.] since the general public looked rather askance at novels (epic poetry was the 'higher form' of writing), scott didn't acknowledge his authorship until 1827. he probably feared damaging his rep as a poet (he was offered poet laureate in 1813!) ...although he was willing to meet the future george IV when his highness requested dinner with the famous "author of waverley". aaaand I think I'd do the same thing in his position.

in september of 1797, scott went on a trip to the lake district with some friends, where he was introduced to charlotte carpenter, a french orphan with rather stable financial circumstances. he proposed. she accepted. they got married. it actually was about that fast -- their wedding was december 24th, 1797; but they stayed (happily) married until her death in 1826, which is more than some people can say. (here are some letters from her, to him, during their engagement. d'aww!)

how did scott get the 'sir' appendage? in 1818, he obtained royal permission to search for the long-lost, legendary scottish crown jewels. scott and a small group of men discovered the "honours of scotland" deep in edinburgh castle, and in gratitude for this fantastic feat, the prince regent (aforementioned george) granted him the title of baronet (insert scarlet pimpernel reference here). whether the other men were remembered at all, I have no idea, since everyone else apparently forgot them.

sir walter scott died on september 21, 1832, deeply in debt, at his home abbotsford. his ever-popular books sold so well, though, that after his death the debts were all discharged. (yay for fans.)

:: a much more informative, but much less fun biography is over at the literature network's sir ws page. but don't say I didn't warn you. ::

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fun extras:
- the edinburgh sir walter scott club is all about educating the masses in scott lore.
- "the erl-king" is a poem translated by scott. as the directions intimate, it's to be read "by a candle long in the snuff". probably in a hollow voice, too.
- he designed his own tartan pattern.
- this article points out (among other things) the slightly erroneous nature of some of scott's titles. but for what do we have neighbors, if not to make sport of them in our turn?