Walter Scott and Fame is a study of correspondences between Scott and socially and culturally diverse readers of his work in the English-speaking world in the early nineteenth century. Examining authorship, reading, and fame, the book is based on extensive archival research, especially in the collection of letters to Scott in the National Library of Scotland. Robert Mayer demonstrates that in Scott's literary correspondence constructions of authorship, reading strategies, and versions of fame are posited, even theorized. Scott's reader-correspondents invest him with power but they also attempt to tap into or appropriate some of his authority. Scott's version of authorship sets him apart from important contemporaries like Wordsworth and Byron, who adhered, at least as Scott viewed the matter, to a rarefied conception of the writer as someone possessed of extraordinary power. The idea of the author put in place by Scott in dialogue with his readers establishes him as a powerful figure who is nevertheless subject to the will of his audience. Scott's literary correspondence also demonstrates that the reader can be a very powerful figure and that we should regard reading not just as the reception of texts but also as the apprehension of an author-function. Thus, Scott's correspondence makes it clear that the relationship between authors and readers is a dynamic, often fraught, connection, which needs to be understood in terms of the new culture of celebrity that emerged during Scott's working life. Along with Byron, the study shows, Scott was at the centre of this transformation.

Walter Scott and Fame is a study of correspondences between Scott and socially and culturally diverse readers of his work in the English-speaking world in the early nineteenth century. Examining authorship, reading, and fame, the book is based on extensive archival research, especially in the collection of letters to Scott in the National Library of Scotland. Robert Mayer demonstrates that in Scott's literary correspondence constructions of authorship, reading strategies, and versions of fame are posited, even theorized. Scott's reader-correspondents invest him with power but they also attempt to tap into or appropriate some of his authority. Scott's version of authorship sets him apart from important contemporaries like Wordsworth and Byron, who adhered, at least as Scott viewed the matter, to a rarefied conception of the writer as someone possessed of extraordinary power. The idea of the author put in place by Scott in dialogue with his readers establishes him as a powerful figure who is nevertheless subject to the will of his audience. Scott's literary correspondence also demonstrates that the reader can be a very powerful figure and that we should regard reading not just as the reception of texts but also as the apprehension of an author-function. Thus, Scott's correspondence makes it clear that the relationship between authors and readers is a dynamic, often fraught, connection, which needs to be understood in terms of the new culture of celebrity that emerged during Scott's working life. Along with Byron, the study shows, Scott was at the centre of this transformation.

Walter Scott and Fame is a study of correspondences between Scott and socially and culturally diverse readers of his work in the English-speaking world in the early nineteenth century. Examining authorship, reading, and fame, the book is based on extensive archival research, especially in the collection of letters to Scott in the National Library of Scotland. Robert Mayer demonstrates that in Scott's literary correspondence constructions of authorship, reading strategies, and versions of fame are posited, even theorized. Scott's reader-correspondents invest him with power but they also attempt to tap into or appropriate some of his authority. Scott's version of authorship sets him apart from important contemporaries like Wordsworth and Byron, who adhered, at least as Scott viewed the matter, to a rarefied conception of the writer as someone possessed of extraordinary power. The idea of the author put in place by Scott in dialogue with his readers establishes him as a powerful figure who is nevertheless subject to the will of his audience. Scott's literary correspondence also demonstrates that the reader can be a very powerful figure and that we should regard reading not just as the reception of texts but also as the apprehension of an author-function. Thus, Scott's correspondence makes it clear that the relationship between authors and readers is a dynamic, often fraught, connection, which needs to be understood in terms of the new culture of celebrity that emerged during Scott's working life. Along with Byron, the study shows, Scott was at the centre of this transformation.

'Walter Scott and Fame' is a study of correspondences between Scott and socially and culturally diverse readers of his work in the English-speaking world in the early 19th century. Examining authorship, reading and fame, the book is based on extensive archival research, especially in the collection of letters to Scott in the National Library of Scotland

Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832) was a Scottish historical novelist, playwright and poet. He was the first modern 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 of both English-language literature and of Scottish literature. Famous titles include Ivanhoe, Rob Roy, The Lady of the Lake, Waverley, The Heart of Midlothian and The Bride of Lammermoor. This unique and meticulously edited collection includes: Journal THE JOURNAL OF SIR WALTER SCOTT Letters PAUL'S LETTERS TO HIS KINSFOLK LETTERS OF MALACHI MALAGROWTHER LETTERS ON DEMONOLOGY AND WITCHCRAFT Various Articles and Essays RELIQUES OF ROBERT BURNS LIFE AND WORKS OF JOHN HOME LIFE OF KEMBLE — KELLY'S REMINISCENCES SALMONIA ON PLANTING WASTE LANDS ON LANDSCAPE GARDENING TRIAL OF DUNCAN TERIG ALIAS CLERK, AND ALEXANDER BANE MACDONALD BIOGRAPHY: SIR WALTER SCOTT by George Saintsbury SIR WALTER SCOTT by Richard H. Hutton MEMOIRS OF THE LIFE OF SIR WALTER SCOTT by J. G. Lockhart

Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832) was a Scottish historical novelist, playwright and poet. He was the first modern 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 of both English-language literature and of Scottish literature. Famous titles include Ivanhoe, Rob Roy, The Lady of the Lake, Waverley, The Heart of Midlothian and The Bride of Lammermoor. Table of Contents: Journal THE JOURNAL OF SIR WALTER SCOTT Letters PAUL'S LETTERS TO HIS KINSFOLK LETTERS OF MALACHI MALAGROWTHER LETTERS ON DEMONOLOGY AND WITCHCRAFT Various Articles and Essays RELIQUES OF ROBERT BURNS LIFE AND WORKS OF JOHN HOME LIFE OF KEMBLE — KELLY'S REMINISCENCES SALMONIA ON PLANTING WASTE LANDS ON LANDSCAPE GARDENING TRIAL OF DUNCAN TERIG ALIAS CLERK, AND ALEXANDER BANE MACDONALD BIOGRAPHY: SIR WALTER SCOTT by George Saintsbury SIR WALTER SCOTT by Richard H. Hutton MEMOIRS OF THE LIFE OF SIR WALTER SCOTT by J. G. Lockhart

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.