A Legend of Montrose by Sir Walter Scott (1819)

This was the last of Scott's early series entitled Tales of My Landlord, detailing episodes in Scottish history in fictional form. This one covers the response among the Scots to the revolutionary actions which precipitated the English Civil War. Some Scots lairds were for, some against, and very much not exclusively for the same reasons as the English; their own affairs, rivalries and vying for power took up a lot of their motivation. The really fun thing about this one is the mixedness of our main character. We are led through these affairs by Dugald Dalgetty, a soldier for hire, who is full of wind. He has no compunction about rattling on endlessly to his superiors about tactics they're ignoring, or precedents they're not taking into consideration, driving them sourly spare in the process. At the same time, he is an excellent soldier, so we are invited not only to laugh at him, but admire him a little too. This lends the piece a warm geniality which is great. For a shorter piece, it has much derring-do, with criss-crossing of the Highlands, family hatreds, imprisonment in castles, political explication and a big battle. It also has a truncated love story - I'm thinking that this is the thing which Scott may have expanded had his enthusiasm kept up, as it is a little threadbare. But this was the last, and in an epilogue he admits that his relish has subsided. He also does something else that I'd like to see authors of the modern era try: he recommends in the last line a novel published anonymously a year previously. The title is Marriage and he hints as to the gender of the author. Of course we now know that to be Susan Ferrier, and that she went on to become one of the finest of her era. What a great idea for those 'in the know', not critics, but authors themselves, to recommend the books of fellows which they think their readers may enjoy next.