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Harry Shaw’s aim is to promote a fuller understanding of nineteenth-century historical fiction by revealing its formal possibilities and limitations. His wide-ranging book establishes a typology of the ways in which history was used in prose fiction during the nineteenth century, examining major works by Sir Walter Scott—the first modern historical novelist—and by Balzac, Hugo, Anatole France, Eliot, Thackeray, Dickens, and Tolstoy.

His Waverley novels brought Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832) great international fame in his own day. Many modern readers, however, find them too daunting, perhaps because of their considerable length. The aim of this volume is to introduce the general reader to Scott's prose fiction through his highly accessible short stories. These include the "straightforward" horror stories My Aunt Margaret's Mirror and The Tapestried Chamber and the masterly Wandering Willie's Tale with its weird expedition to Hell, told in broad Scots. The Highland Widow and The Two Drovers mirror the themes of some of Scott's great novels. The former deals with friction and misunderstanding between generations in a Highland family - with fatal consequences. The latter examines ideas of justice and honour when Highlander and Englishman collide - again with fatal consequences.Also included are The Fortunes of Martin Waldeck and Death of the Laird's Jock. With an Introduction by Ronald W. Renton and an Essay byDavid Cecil.

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