Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet, 1771 - 1832
Oil on canvas by Sir Henry Raeburn (1822)
Born: 15 August 1771, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
Died: 21 September 1832, Melrose, Scotland, UK
Scott contracted polio in his second year and spent significant time in various places healing from it, during which time his grandmother regaled him with old tales of the Scottish Borders country and his aunt taught him to read. Although he was a vigorous six-footer, he always limped. He entered the University of Edinburgh in 1783, in 1786 he began a legal apprenticeship in his father's office. After a year he returned to the university for formal law training and practiced at Edinburgh. He started writing poetry at 25, his work sold well and within a decade he had founded his first printing firm and took on a partner in 1809. The economy turned down and in 1814 he wrote the very successful Waverley to keep the business going. To avoid damaging his reputation as a poet, he published all of his novels anonymously, includingRob Roy and Ivanhoe in 1819. He is generally credited with inventing the historical novel, he wrote at least fifteen. In 1820 he was made a baronet. The economy soured again in 1826, his wife died the following year, and he was again deeply in debt. Rather than take bankruptcy, he placed his estate, a home he called Abbotsford on nearly a thousand acres, and his writing income into a trust for his creditors and turned himself into "a sort of writing automaton". He suffered four strokes before dying, still in debt, but his work was selling briskly and all bills were soon paid.
Biography from Wikipedia and Scot Clans
Additional quotes from Wikiquote. Wikiquote entries are often "sourced" and may include items longer than those included here, particularly for poets, lyricists, and dramatists.
Walter Scott quotes:
Quotes found : 67 — (15 per page, this is page 1 of 5) 1 2 3 4 5 Next
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- A coward calls himself cautious, a miser thrifty. permalink
Walter Scott - Rob Roy (1817) - A friend always loves, but he who loves is not always a friend. permalink
Walter Scott - Rob Roy (1817) - A lawyer without history or literature is a mechanic, a mere working mason; if he possesses some knowledge of these, he may venture to call himself an architect. permalink
Walter Scott - Guy Mannering (1815) - A miss is as good as a mile. permalink
Walter Scott - Journal (3 December 1825) - A rusty nail placed near a faithful compass, will sway it from the truth, and wreck the argosy. permalink
Walter Scott - After a bad harvest sow again. permalink
Walter Scott - Rob Roy (1817) - All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education. permalink
Walter Scott - Ambition breaks the ties of blood, and forgets the obligations of gratitude. permalink
Walter Scott - And better had they ne'er been born,
Who read to doubt, or read to scorn. permalink
Walter Scott - The Monastery (1820) - And come he slow, or come he fast,
It is but death who comes at last. permalink
Walter Scott - Marnion (1808) - As long as the Fates permit, live cheerfully. permalink
Walter Scott - Rob Roy (1817) - Bear in mind that you commit a crime by injuring even a wicked brother. permalink
Walter Scott - Rob Roy (1817) - Blessed be his name, who hath appointed the quiet night to follow the busy day, and the calm sleep to refresh the wearied limbs and to compose the troubled spirit. permalink
Walter Scott - The Talisman (1825) - Bluid is thicker than water. permalink
Walter Scott - Guy Mannering (1815) - Cats are a mysterious kind of folk. There is more passing in their minds than we are aware of. permalink
Walter Scott
Quotes found : 67 — (15 per page, this is page 1 of 5) 1 2 3 4 5 Next
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