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Quentin Durward
First Edition, First Impression:
Quentin Durward. By the Author of "Waverley", "Peveril
of the Peak," &c. In Three Volumes. Vol. I. (II-III).
Edinburgh: Printed for Archibald Constable and Co. And Hurst, Robinson
and Co., London, 1823.
Composition | Sources | Synopsis | Reception | Links
Composition
Quentin Durward, set in fifteenth-century France,
was Scott's first fictional venture onto the continent of Europe.
Scott's earliest reference to the novel occurs in a letter
of 10 November 1822 to the London-based actor and theatre manager
Daniel Terry. Terry, who had adapted a number of Scott's works
for the stage, was one of the select few in whom Scott had
confided his authorship of the Waverley Novels. Scott informs
Terry that he is planning a novel featuring a Scottish archer
in the France of Louis XI 'the most picturesque of all times'
(Letters, VII, 281). Two months later, on 11 January 1823,
he mentions the same idea in a letter to his friend J.B.S.
Morritt, 11 January 1823. As well as being 'an admirable little
corner of history', the new continental sitting will confound
'the vulgar dogs of imitators' busily exploring the avenues
of Scottish and British history in Scott's wake (Letters, VII,
208). |
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Scott's idea may have been sparked by the recent
return from France of his friend and fellow Advocate James Skene
of Rubislaw, a talented amateur artist. Skene had kept a detailed
journal of his tour with sketches of historical buildings and scenery.
The journal was placed at Scott's disposition during the composition
of Quentin Durward and exerted a demonstrable influence
on a number of the descriptive passages. In the aftermath of the
Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, Scott (whose wife was
French) realized that there would be great public interest in the
reign of Louis XI which saw the fall of feudal France and the emergence
of the first modern centralized nation-state. The decision to make
the hero a Scottish archer may have been influenced by Scott's
own
reinvention of the Company of Archers as the bodyguard for George
IV during his visit to Edinburgh in August 1822.
Scott must have started writing Quentin Durward shortly
after his letter to Morritt, as a letter of 23 January to Archibald
Constable reveals that he was making good progress. Indeed, the
whole novel was written at exceptional speed. The first two volumes
were at the printers by 4 March. Progress slowed a little during
late March and early April as Scott decided to reduce the historical
scope of the novel and to keep material in reserve which would
eventually be used six years later in Anne
of Geierstein. Scott was also deeply affected by the death
in March of his brother Tom, leaving him, at the age of 52, as
the only surviving offspring of a family of twelve boys and girls.
The note to James
Ballantyne accompanying the final leaves of the manuscript
is unfortunately undated but must have been sent before the end
of April 1823. Ballantyne, however, prompted Scott to rework
the conclusion of the novel which he felt was too abrupt. The
revised
text was
complete by 3 May. Unusually, however, the title was kept secret
until the printing was complete, with only chapter titles provided
in the running heads. This was to prevent pirate editions being
printed from proof-sheets as had happened with Peveril
of the Peak in the United States. Throughout its composition,
Scott privately referred to the novel as Durward. Constable,
however, persuaded Scott to use his hero's full name which he
felt felicitously echoed Guy
Mannering. The new novel was published in London on
17 May 1823 and in Edinburgh on 19 May, a mere fourth months
after the appearance of Peveril of the Peak.
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Sources
Quentin Durward portrays a power-struggle between
the Duchy of Burgundy and the Holy Roman Empire for possession
of the thriving merchant city of Liège in modern-day Belgium.
It is set, however, in the wider context of Louis XI's efforts
to establish the French monarchy as a centralizing force in a modern
nation-state. The collapse of powerful feudal dominions sees the
emergence of new trading classes but also the emergence of predatory
local barons and decline of the spirit of chivalry.
By far Scott's most important historical source were
the Mémoires of Philippe de Commynes which are generally
regarded as the first example of modern analytical history. Commynes
had acted as a councillor to both Louis XI of France and Charles
the Bold, Duke of Burgundy. His portrait of the former, which strongly
influenced Scott's own, is notably more balanced than those offered
by rival historians and chroniclers. Scott also drew on the on
collection of French historical memoirs edited by Claude Bernard
Petitot but was otherwise more interested in obtaining topographical
works, maps, and gazetteers to supply the place of first-hand knowledge
of the regions portrayed. In this he received much valuable aid
from Archibald Constable's son David who was curator of the Advocates'
Library.
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Synopsis
The plot centres on the rivalry between Louis XI
of France and Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy. Louis incites
the citizens of Liège to revolt against Charles, and, under
the command of Louis's ally, William De La Marck, they seize and
murder Charles's brother-in-law, the Bishop of Liège. At
the time of the murder Louis is at Charles's camp at Peronne, hoping
to fool him with a false display of friendship. Charles, though,
sees through his pretence, accuses him of instigating the uprising,
and has him imprisoned. Louis's superior coolness of mind permits
him to allay Charles's suspicions and to regain his liberty. In
a sub-plot, the Burgundian heiress Isabelle de Croye takes refuge
at Louis's court when Charles attempts to give her hand in marriage
to his odious favourite Campo-Basso. Louis, in turn, resolves to
give her in marriage to de la Marck, and sends her to Flanders
under the pretence of placing her under the protection of the Bishop
of Liège. She is guarded on her journey by Quentin Durward,
an archer, who has left behind poverty in Scotland to join Louis's
Scottish Guard. Quentin prevents the intended treachery and earns
Isabelle's love. Charles, though, promises her in marriage to the
Duke of Orleans (heir to the French crown) but she refuses, and,
in anger, the Duke promises her to whoever brings him the head
of De La Marck. This Quentin does with the help of his uncle, Ludovic
Lesley, and wins Isabelle's hand.
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Reception
Scott completed Quentin Durward within five months of finishing Peveril
of the Peak, and readers had difficulty believing that
the 'Author of Waverley' could have produced another novel
quite so quickly. It was perhaps for this reason that sales
were initially slow despite Quentin Durward being Scott's
most critically acclaimed novel since Ivanhoe.
Scott's expressed his disappointment in a letter: 'If it had
been a bad book I would not have cared, but we must think what
is to be done.'
The slow sales of Quentin Durward in England stood in stark
contrast to its reception in France, where it caused a similar
sensation to Waverley in Scotland
and Ivanhoe in England. French
women adopted the fashion of wearing gowns in the Stuart tartan,
and Scott became the talk of Paris. The vogue for the novel spread
to Italy then swept across Europe, eventually awakening renewed
interest in Britain, where demand soon outstripped supply.
Critical reaction was mixed. The Edinburgh Magazine judged
it in point of story 'the most perfect of the Author's performances',
and the British Magazine felt it displayed 'more talent
than any other of the author's works'. For the Scotsman,
however, it lacked the touches of genius which the poorest of its
predecessors possessed. The European Magazine argued that
the characters and situations were repeated from earlier novels,
and the Literary Chronicle declared it the worst novel to
date by the 'Author of Waverley'.
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Last updated: 19-Dec-2011
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