CORE 100: ADAPTING AUSTEN
By Jovitamae Parsley Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet, was a poet, novelist, historian, and biographer in the Regency period, but is mostly renowned as the founder of the genre of historical novels (BBC News). He was born August 15, 1771 in Edinburgh, Scotland where he spent a lot of his time listening to his grandfather’s…
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CORE 100: ADAPTING AUSTEN
By Jovitamae Parsley

Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet, was a poet, novelist, historian, and biographer in the Regency period, but is mostly renowned as the founder of the genre of historical novels (BBC News). He was born August 15, 1771 in Edinburgh, Scotland where he spent a lot of his time listening to his grandfather’s stories about his family’s history (BBC News). This account led him to become a literature buff, especially in poetry. Also, the Scottish countryside inspired his love for natural beauty and historical Scottish struggles. He attended the Edinburgh High School and earned his law degree at the University of Edinburgh following his dad’s legacy (Encyclopedia Britannica). Then, he practiced law as his father’s apprentice, but was entertained by readings in other languages. When he was 25, Scott translated works from German, which led him into working on poetry (Encyclopedia Britannica). In December of 1797, he married Charlotte Carpenter, the mother of his four children (BBC News). Due to his poor health, he died September 21, 1832 (Encyclopedia Britannica).

Writing Career

After Scott restored German ballads to their original versions, he received a lot of fame, which enabled him to write The Lay of the Last Minstrel (1805) (Encyclopedia Britannica). The narrative poem emphasizes Scott’s important writing style of his intense storytelling, which is found in many of his other poems that were written in the early 19th century. Eventually, Scott was bored of narrative poetry, which led to Waverley. Due to his novel’s success, he became on of the most famous writers in the early 19th century. Another result of his boredom led Scott to review other works of peers, which were published in the Quarterly Review.

The Lay of the Last Minstrel read by Peter Tucker

Waverley

Sir Walter Scott’s most famous work is Waverley. One thousand copies of his first edition sold out within two days, and more editions were published shortly after. Waverley was received well by critics with positive reviews. The novel is set in the Jacobite Rebellion in 1745 and is about a young romance and poetry reader, Edward Waverley, who journeys into the rebellion and along the way deals with romance (Encyclopedia Britannica). In 1814, Waverley was anonymously published with the subtitle Sixty Years Since (Encyclopedia Britannica). The novel was so popular that Scott went onto writing similar novels, which created a collection of “The Waverley Novels” because each book had similar themes (Encyclopedia Britannica). Scott had reached the peak of his career with Waverley. This publication lead to a new genre of historical novels, which is why Scott became successful.

Jane Austen

Aside from his success, Scott had reviewed other works during his time, and his criticisms were published in the Quarterly Review. However, his reviews on Jane Austen were usually praises, and famously he assessed Emma. Austen was interested in what others had to say about her works and was aware of the reviews. In one of his revisions of his comment on Austen writing Emma, Scott writes “[Jane Austen] shows… admirable discrimination in the characters of fools… a merit farm from common… it is no fool that can describe fools well… exhibit to use mere folly in the abstract…”(Reitzel 492). Scott was thoroughly entertained with Jane Austen’s works. Also, he compares her novels to other writers, such as Maria Edgeworth. “Among authors of this school there is no one superior, if equal to the lady [Jane Austen] whose last production is now before us… Miss Edgeworth draws characters and details conversations with a spirit no to be surpassed, but her stories are more romantically improbable…” (Reitzel 491). Unlike Edgeworth, Austen wrote a more realistic type of fiction, which distinguishes her works during her and Scott’s time.

“Also read again, and for the third time at least, Miss Austen’s very finely written novel of Pride and Prejudice. That young lady had a talent for describing the involvement and feelings and characters of ordinary life which is to me the most wonderful I ever met with. The big Bow-wow strain I can do myself like any now going, but the exquisite touch which renders ordinary commonplace things and characters interesting from the truth of the description and the sentiment is denied to me. What a pity such a gifted creature died so early!” (Scott 155).

The quote above is one of the most recognizable comments Scott made about Austen’s style. Compared to other authors including himself, Scott mentions that Austen writes in a way that readers are able to relate to since the plot involves “ordinary” lives. Before the early 19th century, novels were written in dramatic or gothic style, like Edgeworth’s early works. Even Scott’s work includes dramatic and unrealistic events although the historical themes add an everyday aspect. Additionally, Scott claims Pride and Prejudice as a prime example of her realistic fiction, specifically the Bennett’s middle class situation. Her distinct characteristics of irony, realistic, and meaningful works have preserved her uniqueness throughout time.

Scott’s Influence

Although they have different styles, Walter Scott has poetically influenced Jane Austen’s works. According to Nick Bujak, Scott was useful when Austen was developing forms in her novels. Bujak specifically mentions Mansfield Park as the first appearance of innovational forms enabled by Scott’s poetry. Additionally, Northanger Abbey proved to show that Scott’s poetry inspired Austen to “produce dazzling narrative effects that we see in her later novels” (Bujak 50). There are many other cases Scott’s style has influenced Austen’s style especially with her formal voice. Overall, the respected poet really admired Austen’s works and writing skills, and Austen’s works represents her unintentionally reciprocating her appreciation of his narrative poetry.

References

Bujak, Nick. “Form And Generic Interrelation In The Romantic Period: Walter Scott’s Poetic Influence On Jane Austen.” Narrative 22.1 (2014): 45-67. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 15 Mar. 2016.

Morier, David. “An Incident in the Rebellion of 1745.” Royal Collection Trust. Royal Collection Trust, 2016. Web. 16 Mar. 2016. <https://www.royalcollection.org.uk/collection/401243/an-incident-in-the-rebellion-of-1745&gt;.

“Portrait of Sir Walter Scott.” Loc.gov. Library of Congress, 2005. Web. 16 Mar. 2016. <http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2002695072/&gt;.

Reitzel, William. “Sir Walter Scott’s Review of Jane Austen’s Emma.” PMLA 1928: 487. JSTOR Journals. Web. 3 Mar. 2016.

Sabor, Peter. ““Finished up to Nature”: Walter Scott’s Review of Emma.” JASNA. Jane Austen Society of North America, 1991. Web. 3 Mar. 2016. <http://www.jasna.org/persuasions/printed/number13/sabor.htm&gt;.

Scott, Walter, and David Douglas. The Journal of Sir Walter Scott From the Original Manuscript at Abbotsford. Edinburgh: Harper & Brothers, 1890. Harvard University. Web. 15 Mar. 2016. <http://hdl.handle.net/2027/hvd.hwp42x&gt;.

“Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet | Scottish Writer.” Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2016. <http://www.britannica.com/biography/Sir-Walter-Scott-1st-Baronet>.

Tucker, Peter. “The Lay of the Last Minstrel (FULL Audiobook).” YouTube. LibriVox, 25 Aug. 2015. Web. 16 Mar. 2016. <https://youtu.be/2_uvbMOzPwQ&gt;.

“Waverley.” Walter Scott. Edinburgh University Library, 19 Dec. 2011. Web. 16 Mar. 2016. <http://www.walterscott.lib.ed.ac.uk/works/novels/waverley.html&gt;.