Sir Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, (1771-1832). Scottish poet and novelist, who pioneered the historical romance. He was slightly lame, having suffered from infantile paralysis. An Edinburgh lawyer, he made his reputation as a poet with The Lay of the Last Minstrel (1805) and Marmion (1808). He then turned to writing historical fiction, publishing his novels anonymously until 1827 because he was afraid they might detract from his fame as a poet. The first, Waverley (1814), was an immediate success; later works included The Heart of Midlothian (1818), The Bride of Lammermoor (1819), and Ivanhoe (1820). Heavy spending on Abbotsford, his estate in the Borders, contributed to his bankruptcy in 1826 and for the rest of his life he produced novels at great speed in order to repay his debts.
