John Sutherland's new critical biography is an undertaking of major importance in which he penetrates into the darker areas of Scott's life in a sceptical (yet sympathetic) spirit,

This is a comprehensive collection devoted to the work of Sir Walter Scott, drawing on the innovative research and scholarship which have revitalised the study of the whole range of his exceptionally diverse writing in recent years.

This critical biography the indifference which has surrounded Scott in this century and the distortions of his Victorian idolators to recapture the freshness of Scott as he appeared to his contemporaries. By weaving together the life and works, and examining all of Scott's best-known books