Readings from the Edinburgh Edition of the Waverley Novels

I have long been fascinated by the haunting quality of Scott's final narratives. The passage I've chosen reworks in masterly fashion a pre-existing document: in this case a strikingly eerie section from the 6th-century historian Procopius. As a bonus Scott's undiminished ability to sketch character deftly and economically is evident in the lead-in and lead-out.

In this short extract from Count Robert of Paris, the Emperor Alexius is seeking information from his courtiers about the Western Crusaders who are passing through his territories.

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Count Robert of Paris.1879 Steel engraving by William Greatbatch based on a painting by Sir William Boxall. Used here with the permission of the Walter Scott Digital Archive Image Collection.

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The Edinburgh Edition of the Waverley Novels. Count Robert of Paris  by Walter Scott. Edited by J.H.Alexander. 
Published in 2006 by Edinburgh University Press. © The University Court of the University of Edinburgh
Permission has been granted to The Edinburgh Sir Walter Scott Club for usage here until Dec.2012.
For more information visit www.euppublishing.com/series/EEWN

Read more about this Edition on the EUP website

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