OTHER NOVELS.
The success of Waverley led to the production of that series of works, by which the author established himself "as the greatest master in a department of literature, to which he has given a lustre previously unknown;—in which he stands confessedly unrivalled, and not approached, even within moderate limits, except, among predecessors, by Cervantes, and among contemporaries, by the author of Anastasius." We shall merely enumerate these works, with the date of their publication, and, as a point of kindred interest, the sums for which the original manuscripts, in the hand-writing of Sir Walter, were sold in the autumn of last year. Of the merits of these productions it would be idle to attempt to speak in our narrow space; but, for a finely graphic paper, (probably the last written previously to the author's death,) on the literary claims of Sir Walter Scott, as a novelist, we may refer the reader to No. 109 of the Edinburgh Review.
| Novels. | Vols. | Year of Publication. | Orig. MS. sold in 1831, for | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £. | s. | |||
| Waverley | 3 | 1814 | 18 | 0 |
| Guy Mannering | 3 | 1815 | 27 | 10 |
| The Antiquary* | 3 | 1816 | 42 | 0 |
| Tales of My Landlord | 4 1st ser. | 1816 | 33 | 0 |
| Rob Roy* | 3 | 1818 | 50 | 0 |
| Tales of My Landlord | 4 2nd ser. | 1818 | ||
| Tales of My Landlord | 4 3rd ser. | 1819 | 14 | 14 |
| Ivanhoe | 3 | 1820 | 12 | 0 |
| The Monastery* | 3 | 1820 | 18 | 18 |
| The Abbot | 3 | 1820 | 14 | 0 |
| Kenilworth | 3 | 1821 | 17 | 0 |
| The Pirate | 3 | 1822 | 12 | 0 |
| The Fortunes of Nigel | 3 | 1822 | 16 | 16 |
| Peveril of the Peak* | 3 | 1823 | 42 | 0 |
| Quentin Durward | 3 | 1823 | ||
| St. Ronan's Well | 3 | 1824 | ||
| Redgauntlet | 3 | 1824 | ||
| Tales of the Crusaders | 4 | 1825 | ||
| Woodstock | 3 | 1826 | ||
| Chronicles of the Canongate | 2 1st ser. | 1827 | ||
| Chronicles of the Canongate | 3 2nd ser. | 1828 | ||
| Anne of Gerstein | 3 | 1829 | ||
| Tales of My Landlord | 4 4th ser. | 1831 | ||
Making in all, 73 volumes, within 17 years.
(Those marked * were alone perfect.)
MISCELLANEOUS WORKS.
To particularize Sir Walter's contributions to periodical literature would occupy considerable space. He wrote a few papers in the early numbers of the Edinburgh Review, and several in the Quarterly Review, especially during the last ten volumes of that journal, of which his son-in-law, Mr. Lockhart, is the accredited editor. Sir Walter likewise contributed the articles Chivalry, Drama, and Romance to the sixth edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica. Paul's Letters to his Kinsfolk, the fruits of Sir Walter's tour through France and Belgium, in 1815, were published anonymously; and the Field of Waterloo, a poem, appeared about the same time. We may also here mention his dramatic poem of Halidon Hill, which appeared in 1822; and two dramas, the Doom of Devergoil and Auchindrane, in 1830—neither of which works excited more than temporary attention. Sir Walter likewise contributed a History of Scotland, in two volumes, to Dr. Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopaedia, in 1830; and in the same year a volume on Demonology and Witchcraft, to Mr. Murray's Family Library: both which works, of course, had a circulation co-extensively with the series of which they form portions. We may here notice a juvenile History of Scotland, in three series, or nine volumes, under the title of Tales of a Grandfather, affectionately addressed to his grandchild, the eldest son of Mr. Lockhart, as Hugh Littlejohn, Esq.
ABBOTSFORD—BARONETCY.
The large sums received by Sir Walter for the copyright of his earlier works had enabled him to expend nearly one hundred thousand pounds upon Abbotsford, so as to make it his "proper mansion, house, and home, the theatre of his hospitality, the seat of self-fruition, the comfortablest part of his own life, the noblest of his son's inheritance, a kind of private princedom, and, according to the degree of the master, decently and delightfully adorned."[12] Here Sir Walter lived in dignified enjoyment of his well-earned fortune, during the summer and autumn, and was visited by distinguished persons from nearly all parts of the world. He unostentatiously opened his treasury of relics to all visitors, and his affability spread far and wide. He usually devoted three hours in the morning, from six or seven o'clock, to composition, his customary quota being a sheet daily. He passed the remainder of the day in the pleasurable occupations of a country life—as in superintending the improvements of the mansion, and the planting and disposal of the grounds of Abbotsford; or, as Walpole said of John Evelyn, "unfolding the perfection of the works of the Creator, and assisting the imperfection of the minute works of the creature;" so as to render Abbotsford as Evelyn describes his own dear Wotton, "large and ancient (for there is an air of assumed antiquity in Abbotsford), suitable to those hospitable times, and so sweetly environed with those delicious streams and venerable woods, as in the judgment of strangers as well as Englishmen, it may be compared to one of the most pleasant seats in the nation, most tempting to a great person and a wanton purse, to render it conspicuous: it has rising grounds, meadows, woods, and water in abundance."[13]
In 1820, the poet of Marmion was created a baronet, by George IV., but a few weeks after his accession—it being the first baronetcy conferred by the King, and standing alone in the Gazette which announced the honour. In 1822, Sir Walter distinguished himself in the loyal reception of the King, on his visit to Scotland; and soon afterwards the Baronet was appointed a deputy-lieutenant for the county of Roxburgh.