Appreciation of 'Kenilworth'

[Zaza]

I have just finished reading 'Kenilworth', which I enjoyed very much. Scott's first novel set outside Scotland, it is a gripping portrayal of the glittering court of Queen Elizabeth I, its ambition and paranoia, and of course features one of the most enduring of historical mysteries, that of the death of Amy Robsart. Scott does play fast and loose with historical fact and chronology,but to good artistic effect.
I see that there have not been many comments about the novels of Sir Walter Scott, which I think is a shame. Any Scott fans out there- let's see if we can get something going.

[Jackson Richardson]

Yes, I've just read the book. I wonder feminists don't cotton on to how Amy is put upon by her husband. The character of Elizabeth shows female power in contrast to Amy's total emotional and social dependence on her slimy husband.

It was Scott's second novel set outside Scotland - Ivanhoe was earlier.

His Scottish novels are his most interesting, but certainly Kenilworth is well plotted and I was pleased to read it.

(I'm reading my way through a second hand set of complete Scott novels bought many years ago. Some plots are over complicated - Fortunes of Nigel, Fair Maid of Perth, Peverill of the Peak.

[Zaza]

Amy Dudley is certainly very much a victim. The many portrayals of her in novels, including murder mysteries, always characterise her in the same way, so I assume they were following Scott's lead.

'Kenilworth' is very well constructed and gets straight into the story with the arrival of Tressillian at the Black Bear Inn, like the first scene of a film. They really wouldn't have to change much.

I only have the ones available in Oxford and Penguin so far, and I haven't read them all yet.

[Jackson Richardson]

Nice to hear from your Zaza. I'm reading my way through Scott and he isn't much appreciated now. Which is amazing as within living memory (just about) he was regarded as on a level with Shakespeare.

A major difficulty is the dialogue. Either it's in Scots (fair enough but not in Kenilworth) or it is a high flown archaic idiom where I'm always expecting someone to say "Tush, varlet, what ailest thou?" Best thing is to plough on and skip the details.

[Zaza]

Since Scott was hugely popular all over the English-speaking world (as well as being translated into numerous languages), it follows that a great many of his readers must have been non-Scots who were unfamiliar with the Scots dialect, but it didn't seem to put them off. In fact, it seems that the authenticity of it was what they liked. I think the way to approach is not to look up every unfamiliar word as you go along, because it breaks the flow. As long as people get the sense of it, that's the main thing. Besides, he shows the rich variety of language of all sorts of people. In most novels of the period, 'ordinary' people hardly get a look in.

[Jackson Richardson]

I think the way to approach is not to look up every unfamiliar word as you go along, because it breaks the flow. As long as people get the sense of it, that's the main thing. Besides, he shows the rich variety of language of all sorts of people. In most novels of the period, 'ordinary' people hardly get a look in.

I agree - that's what I do. Scott's use of Scots dialogue is interesting: in one sense it gives "ordinary" people a voice - on the other hand Scott consistently uses it for the low or comic characters, and the serious characters converse in high flown language (as do Gaelic speakers as Scott reckoned Gaelic language was more poetic or noble than demotic Scots. He says so in Rob Roy.)

But in Kenilworth there is no popular demotic, but it is all in a reconstructed archaic language. I've got no difficulty, but I suspect that's one reason why Scott is less read now.