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Rob Roy is an 1817 historical novel by Walter Scott, one of the Waverley novels. It is probably set in 1715, the year of the first Jacobite rising, and the social and economic bac…
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Investigate this subjectRob Roy is an 1817 historical novel by Walter Scott, one of the Waverley novels. It is probably set in 1715, the year of the first Jacobite rising, and the social and economic background to that event are an important element in the novel, though it is not treated directly.
Rob Roy is an 1817 historical novel by Walter Scott, one of the Waverley novels. It is probably set in 1715, the year of the first Jacobite rising, and the social and economic background to that event are an important element in the novel, though it is not treated directly. The depiction of Rob Roy bears little relation to the historical figure: "there are two Rob Roys. One lived and breathed. The other is a good story, a lively tale set in the past. Both may be accepted as ‘valid', but they serve different needs and interests."
Frank Osbaldistone narrates the story. He is the son of an English merchant who parted from his family home in the north of England near the border with Scotland when he was a young man, being of different religion and temperament than his father or younger brother. Frank is sent by his father to live at the long unseen family home with his uncle and his male cousins, when he refuses to join his father's successful business. In exchange, his father accepts Frank's cousin Rashleigh to work in his business. Rashleigh is an intelligent young man, but he is unscrupulous, and he causes problems for the business of Osbaldistone and Tresham. To resolve the problems, Frank travels into Scotland and meets the larger-than-life title character, Rob Roy MacGregor.
John Ballantyne, Scott's literary agent, drew up a contract for Rob Roy on 5 May 1817 with Archibald Constable and Longman who had published the first three Waverley novels, the author having lost confidence in the publishers of his most recent fictional work Tales of my Landlord, John Murray and William Blackwood, who had turned out to be insufficiently committed to that project. Scott seems to have begun writing the novel immediately, but it was not completed until late December, partly because of illness.
The Rob Roy of Scott's novel is largely fictitious, with an input from stories Scott had heard, handed down over the generations. As is his wont, he adjusts historical chronology freely for his narrative purposes. A number of printed sources were valuable for different components of the work. Thus, for business matters he used The Universal Dictionary of Trade and Commerce by Malachy Postlethwayt, of which he owned the third edition published in 1766. The depiction of Justice Inglewood and his clerk draws directly on The Justice of the Peace and Parish Officer by Richard Burn, the 13th edition of 1776 being in Scott's library. Bailie Jarvie was suggested by another book he owned: The Highland Rogue: or, the Memorable Actions Of the Celebrated Robert Mac-gregor, Commonly called Rob-Roy [by Elias Brockett] (1723).
The first edition, in three volumes, dated 1818, was published in Edinburgh on 30 December 1817 by Archibald Constable and Co. and in London on 13 January 1818 by Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown. As with all the Waverley novels before 1827 publication was anonymous. The print run was 10,000 and the price £1 4s. Scott was involved in only two of the subsequent editions of the novel. In 1823, he made significant changes to the text for the 18-month Novels and Tales, though that was essentially a textual dead end. At the end of 1828, he revised the text for the 'Magnum' edition somewhat sporadically and provided notes and a very long introduction; it appeared as Volumes 7 and 8 in December 1829 and January 1830.
The standard modern edition by David Hewitt was published as Volume 5 of the Edinburgh Edition of the Waverley Novels in 2008. This is based on the first edition with emendations principally from Scott's manuscript; the new Magnum material is included in Volume 25a.
The story takes place just before the 1715 Jacobite Rising, with much of Scotland in turmoil.
Frank Osbaldistone, the narrator, quarrels with his father and is sent to stay with an uncle, Sir Hildebrand Osbaldistone, in Northumberland. Frank falls in love with Diana Vernon, Sir Hildebrand's niece, whose father has been forced to go into hiding because of his Jacobite sympathies. Frank's cousin, Rashleigh, steals important documents vital to the honour and economic solvency of Frank's father, William, and Frank pursues Rashleigh to Scotland. Several times his path crosses the mysterious and powerful figure Robert Roy MacGregor, known as Rob Roy, an associate of Diana's uncle Sir Hildebrand. There is much confusion as the action shifts to the beautiful mountains and valleys around Loch Lomond. A British army detachment is ambushed and there is bloodshed. All Sir Hildebrand's sons but Rashleigh are killed in the Jacobite Rising, and Rashleigh too meets a bloody end. Following this, Frank inherits Sir Hildebrand's property and marries Diana.
The plot has been criticised as disjointed. Robert Louis Stevenson, however, who loved it from childhood, regarded Rob Roy as the best novel of the greatest of all novelists.
The novel is a brutally realistic depiction of the social conditions in Highland and Lowland Scotland in the early 18th century. The Highlanders were compared with American Indians, as regards their primitive, isolated lifestyle. Some of the dialogue is in Scots, and the novel includes a glossary of Scottish words.
Source: Rob Roy (novel) (CC BY-SA)
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