Book #49: Waverley, or 'tis Sixty Years Since by Sir Walter Scott
Number of pages: 491
The one thing I have noticed about Sir Walter Scott's novels is that the plot always integrates a famous historical or mythical figure from British folklore; in this case, the book involves Bonnie Prince Charlie, who started a campaign to attempt to take over the British throne.
The story revolves around the eponymous Edward Waverley, who moves to Scotland and is smitten with Rose Brandwardine, before joining the military against the advice of his friends and getting involved in Bonnie Prince Charlie's campaign, only to be almost immediately denounced as a traitor.
The book starts off quite slowly, as it deals with Waverley's childhood. At times I found it quite difficult and it took a while to get into, mostly because many of the chapters had no dialogue, instead describing events and talking about Waverley's feelings. Much of the dialogue between the characters is quite long-winded and politically based, but I found I started getting into the book when it described the characters' travels across the Highlands.
The best bits of the book for me were the ones that dealt with Waverley's military career, and depictions of battles, and I did find myself caring a lot for Waverley and his affections for Rose.
The other thing I liked about this book was that it felt (like other books by Scott) very well researched, with lots of historical and factual information found in the footnotes. Overall, I am glad I read it, just because of how much it taught me about the time period in which it is set.
Next book: A Tap on the Window by Linwood Barclay