By the author of Waverley

[Sir Walter Scott]. Waverley, or, ‘Tis sixty years since. [1st edition]. Edinburgh: Printed by James Ballantyne and Co. for Archibald Constable and Co., Edinburgh; and Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, London, 1814. Three volumes; Vol. 1 displayed.

Scott was still a hugely popular author of verse romances when he turned to writing prose. His first novel Waverley was published anonymously in July 1814, although much of it had been written some years earlier and set aside - he was reluctant to risk his reputation as a poet.

As the subtitle implies, it is set in 1745, the time of the Jacobite uprising which sought to restore the Stuart dynasty in the person of Charles Edward Stuart, or ‘Bonnie Prince Charlie’. The story follows the fortunes of Edward Waverley, a romantic young Englishman who joins the Jacobite cause.

[Sir Walter Scott]. Waverley, or, ‘Tis sixty years since. [1st edition]. Edinburgh: Printed by James Ballantyne and Co. for Archibald Constable and Co., Edinburgh; and Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, London, 1814. Three volumes; Vol. 1 displayed.
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[Sir Walter Scott]. Waverley, or, ‘Tis sixty years since. [1st edition]. Edinburgh: Printed by James Ballantyne and Co. for Archibald Constable and Co., Edinburgh; and Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, London, 1814. Three volumes; Vol. 1, 2 displayed.

Waverley was immensely popular, and helped create the literary genre of historical fiction in Britain. The first edition of 1000 copies sold out within two days and by November the 4^th edition was being printed.

[Sir Walter Scott]. Waverley, or, ‘Tis sixty years since. [1st edition]. Edinburgh: Printed by James Ballantyne and Co. for Archibald Constable and Co., Edinburgh; and Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, London, 1814. Three volumes; Vol. 1, 2 displayed.
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[Sir Walter Scott]. Guy Mannering, or, The astrologer. [1st edition]. Edinburgh: Printed by James Ballantyne and Co. for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, London; and Archibald Constable and Co., Edinburgh, 1815. Three volumes; Vol. 1 displayed.

The first novel attributed to ‘the author of Waverley’, Guy Mannering was a great success, with the first three editions selling out within three months. It was rapidly composed (within about six weeks) at a time of financial hardship, Scott having narrowly avoided bankruptcy after the collapse of his publisher John Ballantyne in 1813. Its release at the same time as The Lord of the Isles allowed Scott to compare the sales of his poetry and novels – the latter proving far more lucrative.

[Sir Walter Scott]. Guy Mannering, or, The astrologer. [1st edition]. Edinburgh: Printed by James Ballantyne and Co. for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, London; and Archibald Constable and Co., Edinburgh, 1815. Three volumes; Vol. 1 displayed.
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[Sir Walter Scott]. Guy Mannering, or, The astrologer. [1st edition]. Edinburgh: Printed by James Ballantyne and Co. for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, London; and Archibald Constable and Co., Edinburgh, 1815. Three volumes; Vol. 2 displayed.

Set during the late eighteenth century, Guy Mannering tells the story of the son of the Laird of Ellangowan, Harry Bertram, who struggles to regain his inheritance, as well as the favour of the relatively minor title character, a fiery military officer with a passion for amateur astrology.

[Sir Walter Scott]. Guy Mannering, or, The astrologer. [1st edition]. Edinburgh: Printed by James Ballantyne and Co. for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, London; and Archibald Constable and Co., Edinburgh, 1815. Three volumes; Vol. 2 displayed.
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