By the author of Waverley

[Sir Walter Scott]. The pirate. [1st edition]. Edinburgh: Printed for Archibald Constable and Co.; and Hurst, Robinson and Co., London, 1822. Three volumes; Vol. 1 displayed.

In The pirate, the protagonist is young Mordaunt Mertoun, whose friendship with the Troil girls, Minna and Brenda, is ominously interrupted by the arrival of Clement Cleveland, a shipwrecked buccaneer captain, and a bitter rivalry develops between the two men.

[Sir Walter Scott]. The pirate. [1st edition]. Edinburgh: Printed for Archibald Constable and Co.; and Hurst, Robinson and Co., London, 1822. Three volumes; Vol. 1 displayed.
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[Sir Walter Scott]. The pirate. [1st edition]. Edinburgh: Printed for Archibald Constable and Co.; and Hurst, Robinson and Co., London, 1822. Three volumes; Vol. 2 displayed.

The pirate is an unusual departure for Scott, in that the setting is a region not well known to him, and the characters and plot are not strongly founded in historical events. The setting is late seventeenth century Shetland and Orkney. The story is loosely based upon the exploits of the ‘Orkney pirate’ John Gow.

Despite a mixed critical response, The pirate remained one of Scott’s most popular and most reprinted novels throughout the nineteenth century.

[Sir Walter Scott]. The pirate. [1st edition]. Edinburgh: Printed for Archibald Constable and Co.; and Hurst, Robinson and Co., London, 1822. Three volumes; Vol. 2 displayed.
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[Sir Walter Scott]. The fortunes of Nigel. [1st edition]. Edinburgh: Printed for Archibald Constable and Co., Edinburgh; and Hurst, Robinson and Co., London, 1822. Three volumes; Vol. 1 displayed.

Set shortly after the Union of the Crowns, this novel tells the story of a young Scottish nobleman, Nigel Olifaunt, who, needing to pay off a mortgage on his estate, travels to London to ask King James I and VI to repay his father’s substantial loan. But Nigel’s estate is coveted by Prince Charles and the Duke of Buckingham, drawing the protagonist into grave danger by their enmity. The novel is perhaps most famous for Scott’s portrayal of a quirky and erratic King James.

[Sir Walter Scott]. The fortunes of Nigel. [1st edition]. Edinburgh: Printed for Archibald Constable and Co., Edinburgh; and Hurst, Robinson and Co., London, 1822. Three volumes; Vol. 1 displayed.
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[Sir Walter Scott]. The fortunes of Nigel. [1st edition]. Edinburgh: Printed for Archibald Constable and Co., Edinburgh; and Hurst, Robinson and Co., London, 1822. Three volumes; Vol. 2 displayed.

As Scott’s literary output increased, the reading public remained steadfastly loyal, but critical opinion was now divided, with accusations of hasty composition and improbable plotting.

[Sir Walter Scott]. The fortunes of Nigel. [1st edition]. Edinburgh: Printed for Archibald Constable and Co., Edinburgh; and Hurst, Robinson and Co., London, 1822. Three volumes; Vol. 2 displayed.
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