Description
Book SynopsisGuy Mannering; or, The Astrologer, first published in 1815, was Walter Scott''s second novel. Guy Mannering only half-believes in his art, but does believe in the ability of patriarchal power, wealth, and social position to sort out social confusion. However, he has to learn the limits of a nabob''s authority in a society that (in the 1780s) is no longer a single hierarchy but has many subsets, each with its own laws - gypsies, smugglers, Edinburgh lawyers, the Border store farmer, the traditional landowner.
This is the first modern edition of one of Scott''s finest works. It is based on the first edition, but is corrected from the manuscript, and restores around two thousand readings lost through error or misunderstanding. For the first time it includes Scott''s extended portraits of the Edinburgh literati which were unaccountably omitted from the printed version.
Trade ReviewThe volumes have been carefully and critically edited from the original manuscripts and now the texts, which in each case capture large numbers of readings never before printed and clear away elements of corruption in existing editions, are as close to what Scott originally wrote as the skills of the editorial team can make them. The Edinburgh Edition respects Scott the artist by 'restoring' versions of the novels that are not quite what his first readers saw. Indeed, it returns to manuscripts that the printers never handled, as Scott's fiction before 1827 was transcribed before it reached the printshop. Each volume of the Edinburgh edition presents an uncluttered text of one work, followed by an Essay on the Text by the editor of the work, a list of the emendations that have been made to the first edition, explanatory notes and a glossary! The editorial essays are histories of the respective texts. Some of them are almost 100 pages long; when they are put together they constitute a fascinating and lucid account of Scott's methods of compostion and his financial manoeuvres. This edition is for anyone who takes Scott seriously. The Edinburgh Edition is essential to any Scott scholar![the student] will turn first to the superbly specific textual essays that follow the readings. Unique to this handsome edition is Scott's graphic depiction of characters from Edinburgh's literary scene. The latest additions to the monumental Edinburgh Edition of the Waverley Novels ! all three editors maintain consistently high quality in preparing what will surely be the standard edition of Scott's complete novels ! as might be expected, the Essays on the Text are of central importance in the editions, because of the minutely detailed yet lucid accounts of the textual choices made. The volumes have been carefully and critically edited from the original manuscripts and now the texts, which in each case capture large numbers of readings never before printed and clear away elements of corruption in existing editions, are as close to what Scott originally wrote as the skills of the editorial team can make them. The Edinburgh Edition respects Scott the artist by 'restoring' versions of the novels that are not quite what his first readers saw. Indeed, it returns to manuscripts that the printers never handled, as Scott's fiction before 1827 was transcribed before it reached the printshop. Each volume of the Edinburgh edition presents an uncluttered text of one work, followed by an Essay on the Text by the editor of the work, a list of the emendations that have been made to the first edition, explanatory notes and a glossary! The editorial essays are histories of the respective texts. Some of them are almost 100 pages long; when they are put together they constitute a fascinating and lucid account of Scott's methods of compostion and his financial manoeuvres. This edition is for anyone who takes Scott seriously. The Edinburgh Edition is essential to any Scott scholar![the student] will turn first to the superbly specific textual essays that follow the readings. Unique to this handsome edition is Scott's graphic depiction of characters from Edinburgh's literary scene. The latest additions to the monumental Edinburgh Edition of the Waverley Novels ! all three editors maintain consistently high quality in preparing what will surely be the standard edition of Scott's complete novels ! as might be expected, the Essays on the Text are of central importance in the editions, because of the minutely detailed yet lucid accounts of the textual choices made.
Table of Contents"Guy Mannering"; essays on the text; emendation list; end-of-line hyphens; historical note; explanatory notes.
