November 15, 2007

Interview with Scottish historical figure Sir Walter Scott



Hello Sir Walter Scott how are you today? Thanks for taking the time for this interview. So let’s start from the beginning -

Craig: Where were you born in Scotland?

Walter: I was born in College Wynd in the Old Town of Edinburgh in 1771.

Craig: What school did you attend?

Walter: In 1778 I returned to Edinburgh for private education to prepare for school and in October 1779 he began at the Royal High School of Edinburgh. That I enjoyed as I was able to walk and explore the city as well as the surrounding countryside. After finishing school I was sent to stay for six months with my aunt Jenny in Kelso, attending the local Grammar School where I met James Ballantyne who later became my business partner.

Craig: And presumably you went to University?

Walter: I began studying classics at the University of Edinburgh in November 1783, at the age of only twelve so I was a year or so younger than most of my fellow students. But in March 1786 I began an apprenticeship in my father's office, to become a Writer to the Signet.

Craig: Sounds interesting, let’s talk more about your literacy career.

Walter: At the age of 25 I began writing, translating works from German. I then published a three-volume set of collected Scottish ballads called The Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border.
Craig: Tell me more about your novels.
Walter: In 1814 set out to write something that would bring constant income. The result was called Waverley, It was a tale of the "Forty-Five" Jacobite rising in the Kingdom of Great Britain.

Craig: Where all your books about or based in Scotland?

Walter: No! In 1819 I broke away from writing about Scotland with Ivanhoe, a historical romance set in 12th-century England. Among other things, the book has a very sympathetic Jewish character called Rebecca, a real heroine. The book was published at a time when the struggle for the Emancipation of the Jews in England.

Craig: Thanks a lot for taking the time to talk to me Sir Walter hope you have a good day.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

The Edinburgh Sir Walter Scott Club www.eswsc.com

Duncan said...

Cracking interview, Craig. I can imagine you writing a series of them. Well done.

Duncan said...

Mentioned in Dispatches