"My own right hand shall do it"

This morning, in glorious autumn sunshine, visited Abbotsford House where Sir Walter Scott lived and worked. As the week progresses we will probably be all over the place in terms of the time-line of his life. This is towards the end - he died in the room next door, asking to be moved there so that he could hear and see the River Tweed flowing past.

Abbotsford House

The view from the room where Scott died.

Scott was the first English-language author to have a truly international career in his lifetime, with many contemporary readers in Europe, Australia, and North America. His novels and poetry are still read, and many of his works remain classics including Ivanhoe, Rob Roy, The Lady of The Lake, Waverley, The Heart of Midlothian and The Bride of Lammermoor.

There was a financial crash in 1826 and many Edinburgh companies went to the wall. Scott's publisher and partner became liable for debts amounting to £20m in today's terms. Although Scott's own personal liabilities were modest, he elected to pay off the entire debt on his own and stated that "my own right hand shall do it" and for the remaining years of his life he devoted himself to his self-imposed task. In this study he sat and recalled the stories heard from his border relatives - and wove from them a wonderful suite of 26 novels - the Waverley Novels!