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The Heart of Midlothian
(Tales
of My Landlord, Second Series)
First Edition, First Impression:
Tales of My Landlord, Second Series. Collected
and Arranged by Jedediah Cleishbotham, Schoolmaster and Parish-clerk
of Gandercleugh. In Four Volumes. Vol. I (II-IV). Edinburgh: Printed
for Archibald Constable and Company, 1818.
Composition | Synopsis | Reception | Links
Composition
The
Heart of Midlothian was
published as the Second Series of Tales of My Landlord on
July 25, 1818, seven months after Rob
Roy. Scott had been very satisfied with Constable's
handling of Rob Roy and therefore did not revert to
Blackwood and Murray. Scott also transferred the rights for
the first series of
Tales of My Landlord (see The
Tale of Old Mortality and The
Black Dwarf) to Constable, beginning with the fifth edition
of 1819. The novel's heroine, Jeanie Deans, was inspired by
an account that Scott had received of Helen Walker, who had journeyed
all the way to London on foot to obtain a pardon for her sister
on a charge of child-murder. With Scott regaining his health during
January and February 1818, the tale progressed fast. During May
1818 Scott was so determined to finish The Heart of Midlothian
that he broke his usual habit and worked after dinner as well as
in the morning.
Back to top Synopsis
The first volume of the novel, opening in Edinburgh
in 1736, is dominated by the Porteous Riots. A condemned criminal
Andrew Wilson
has helped his accomplice 'Robertson' (the assumed identity of the
reckless young nobleman George Staunton) to escape. Won over
by this selfless act, the crowd are incensed when Captain Porteous,
the soldier presiding over Wilson's hanging, treats him with
great
brutality. At their protest, Porteous fires into the crowd, killing
half-a-dozen people. Porteous is subsequently condemned for murder
but reprieved at the last minute. A mob, led by Staunton, storm
the Old Tolbooth Prison (known as 'The Heart of Midlothian'),
seize Porteous and lynch him. Staunton had also hoped to liberate
his
lover Effie Deans who is awaiting trial for child-murder, but
she refuses to escape. The second volume is concerned with her
trial
and condemnation. Having been seduced and made pregnant by Staunton,
Effie has hidden her condition from her sister, father, and employers.
Since she cannot produce the child in court and has informed
nobody of her condition, it is presumed that she has murdered her
child
to conceal her guilt. The truth is that the baby has been stolen
by Staunton's demented former mistress Madge Wildfire while Effie
lay sick. Effie's sister Jeanie faces a moral dilemma in court
when asked whether Effie told her of her condition. Although a white
lie would save Effie's life, Jeanie's religious and moral convictions
forbid her to tell an untruth. Effie is sentenced to death. Volume
III covers Jeanie's journey to London in the course of which
she meets both Madge Wildfire and her mother Meg Murdockson who
has
sold Effie's son to a vagrant woman in revenge for Staunton's
seducing her daughter. In London Jeanie is aided by the Duke of
Argyle, who
manages to secure her a successful interview with the Queen.
The final volume describes Jeanie's marriage to the Presbyterian
minister
Reuben Butler and their newfound prosperity living on the estate
of the Duke of Argyle. Effie, meanwhile, marries Staunton. Many
years later Staunton, while searching for his lost child, is
killed by an outlaw who turns out to be his own son. The son then
flees
to America and joins an Indian tribe.
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Reception
Many now consider The Heart of Midlothian to
be the best of the Waverley novels. On first publication, however,
despite its immediate commercial succes, critical reaction was lukewarm.
Criticism centred on the fourth volume which was felt to protract
the novel beyond its natural conclusion. Blackwood's and
the British Review suggested that it had been tagged on with
profit in mind. The Monthly Review argued that Effie's transformation
into Lady Staunton and Staunton's death at the hands were excessively
improbable. All nonetheless praised Scott for his ability to recreate
the past vividly and to illustrate the Scottish character.
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Links
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Last
updated: 19-Dec-2011
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