Walter Scott was acutely conscious of the fictionality of his historical novels. In this 1989 book, James Kerr reads the Waverley novels as a grand fictional project constructed around the relationship between the language of fiction and historical reality. We can see throughout Scott's novels a tension between the romancer, recasting the events of the past in accordance with recognizably literary logics, and the historian, presenting an accurate account of the past. This contradiction, reflected in Scott's generic mixture of romance and realism, remains unresolved, even in the most self-conscious of his works. It is in this interplay of fiction and history that Professor Kerr identifies the rich complexity of the Waverley novels.

An analysis of the Waverley novels by James Kerr, first published in 1989.
Reviews
'A complex and original interpretation of the novels ... Kerr conducts some intense and scrupulous reading of Scott's texts, honoring their imaginative richness while exposing their unexpressed ideological commitments. He brings to bear on Scott a sound critical intelligence.' George Levine, Rutgers University



Book Information
ISBN 9780521364256
Author James Kerr
Format Hardback
Page Count 156
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 330g
Dimensions(mm) 216mm * 138mm * 13mm