Publisher's Synopsis
Excerpt from Life of Sir Walter Scott
The closing pages of this book will explain the transaction from which it sprang. When in May 1847 the publisher of Sir Walter Scott's Works proposed to take to himself the whole remaining Copy right in them, he stipulated that I should prepare an abridgment of the Memoirs of the Author, originally comprised in seven volumes, and' since reprinted in various forms. If I had been to consult my own feelings, I should have been more willing to produce an enlarged edition: for the interest of Sir Walter's history lies, I think, even peculiarly, in its minute details - especially in the details set down by himself in his Letters and Diaries: and, of course, after the lapse of ten years, more copious use might be made of those materials with out offence or indecorum. Mr. Cadell, however, considered that a book of smaller bulk, embracing only what may be called more strictly narrative, might be acceptable to certain classes of readers: and the manner in which this gentleman had throughout conducted himself towards Sir Walter, his family, and his memory together with other circumstances on which it is not necessary to say more - overcame my reluctance. It will be understood that whenever the narrative now given at all differs from that of the larger book, I have been endeavouring to profit by letters recently communicated. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
