The Antiquary

Read this from Rhoda Wheeler Sheehan's library filled with glass-windowed bookshelves, while I rented a room above the library in my first year as her teaching colleague at Bristol Community College, Fall River, Mass. Rhoda was Vassar '33, her classmates Elizabeth Bishop and Mary McCarthy (who wrote The Group and I think put Rhoda in it); Bishop rented the Hurricane House (which floated across Westport Harbor in the '38 hurricane) every summer, finished her memorable Art of Losing villanelle there after the death of her longtime Brazilian lover. Bishop's most famous poem was The Fish, and I once cleaned a fish--a bluefish--for the writer of The Fish.

But getting back to Walter Scott and The Antiquary (1815): Mr Oldbuck of Monkbarns, a show more humorist, is the title character, and Mr. Lovel, a young guest. This, by far my favorite Scott novel, witty and literary-historical as it is. The foreword "Advertisement" focuses on Scottish mendicants, early called "Jackies, who go about begging; and use still to recite the Sloggorne, war-cries of the most ancient surnames in Scotland (8).*
"It was some fear of Andrew's [Gemmell's] satire, as much as a feeling of kindness or charity, which secured him the general good reception he enjoyed everywhere"(9). The King's Bedesmen, or Blue Gowns, were every year granted as many beggars as his age, and as many shillings as his age"(11). "On the same occasion one of the Royal Chaplains preaches a sermon to the Bedesmen, who (as one of the reverend gentlemen expressed himself) are the most impatient and inattentive audience in the world. Something of this may arise from the feeling on the part of the Bedesmen, that they are paid for their own devotions, not for listening to those of others."

Scottish traditions include the Clavi-geri (Latin), or club-bearer (armed by the monks). "For the truth of this custom, Mr. Oldbuck quoted the chronicle of Antwerp, and that of St Martin; against which authorities Lovel hd nothing to oppose, haing never heard of them until that moment"(48).
Anecdote of "Snuffy Davy Wilson," who bought the first book published in England, "The Game of Chess," 1474, for two pence (groschen) in Holland stall, and eventually sold it to royalty for £170. Mr Oldbuck confesses, "How often have I stood haggling a halfpence, lest, by a too ready acquiescence in the dealer's first price, he should be led to suspect the value I set upon the article!--how have I trembled, and regarded each poor student of divinity that stopped to turn over the books in the stall, as a rival amateur, or prowling bookseller in disguise!"(51).

Scott next asseses Lovel: not an actor, but mysteriously unsociable--neither tea circles nor coffee house. Everyone would have known if any evil could be said of him, "for the natural desire of speaking evil of our neighbor could in his case have been checked by no feelings of sympathy for a being so unsocial"(70). This approaches the irony of Austen, published in the same years, though probably not read by Sir Walter up north.
Similarly, on why Sir Anthony, a Jacobite, does not ride in the cause for a King James. "His demi-pique saddle fit only one of his horses, the one that would not stand fire. Perhaps the worshipful owner sympathized in the scruples of his sagacious quadruped, and began to think, that which was so much dreaded by the horse could not be very wholesome for the rider"(73).
Ch.VI features a dinner party with Lovel, Oldbuck and Sir Arthur Warden. Lovel is asked to settle the dispute, but hadn't listened for the last hour. Oldbuck, "I thought how it would be when the womankind were admitted--no getting a word out of a young fellow for hours after." They're debating about philology, whether the Pict language, of which only one word remains, "Benval," was Celtic or Saxon (91). Both cited authoritites.
The dispute decends, testily, from philology to Scots kings, like Eachan MacFergus, whom Oldbuck laughs at, calls "mushroom monarch." Then he defends his ancestor, a typographer. Sir Arthur takes off in a pique, looking for the room where his wife's having tea, slamming doors in the dark "with each disappoitment." ( Scottish food, "callops" a kind of stewed meat.) Grisel, the story of the haunted Green Room at Monkbarns.
"I hate the word 'but'...But to is a more detestable combination of lettrs than No itself. 'NO' is a surly, honest fellow...BUT is a sneaking, evasive, half-bred, exceptious sort of conjunction which comes to pull away the cup just when it is at your lips"(152) [Compare Anthony and Cleopatra, II.iv.52]
Oldbuck suggests Lovel excercise his poetic pretensions in an epic, with Oldbuck's own "Essay on Castramentation" appended. "Then we shall revive the good old forms so disgracefully neglected in modern times. You shall invoke the Muse...then we must have a vision in which appears the Genius of Caledonia, with a succession of real Scottish monarchs"(192).

* Pagination from edition published by Ticknor and Fields: Boston, 1868. show less

The third book in Scott's Waverley series. Another well told yarn set in an historic background (1790s this time). I found the plot a little contrived - another lost heir, but not to the point of affecting my enjoyment of the writing. I was interested to read later that this book was one of Scott's personal favourites. Also remarkable to read how quickly it was written and published - Scott was under financial pressure, and was putting out these books at a manic pace. One of the central roles in this book is a "licensed" beggar, who is given very sympathetic treatment, continuing Scott's generosity towards people on the fringes of society (in Guy Mannering it was the "Gypsy Queen").

The Antiquary was Walter Scott’s third novel, set like the first two in Scotland in the 18th Century. Again, the novel is as much of value for entertainment as it is as an historical record of life in Scotland at that time, with all its cultural intricacies of dialect and language, manners and mannerisms, social conditions, and characters. Like the unforgettable gypsy Meg Merilless from his novel Guy Mannering, the mendicant Edie Ochiltree here provides a fully drawn and lifelike character with a similar though in many ways unique role in the plot. Again, based on a person known to the author in his youth, what we have is another masterpiece of observation in human nature, and idiosyncracy linked to bygone ways of life. The Antiquary show more of the title arguably plays supporting lead to the beggar, though he is none the less unique in his peculiarities that spring to life from the page. In more second rate supporting roles we have Lovell, the real protagonist of the plot, and the German con-artist Dousterswivel who plays the pantomime baddy with conviction.
In terms of plot we have some predictability, with the end being guessable well before we get there, though when we do get there the novel ends very abruptly, as if Scott did not spend the time and effort on wrapping it up that he did on most of the rest of the story. There are some very good scenic and atmospheric set piece scenes, which together with the historical and social interest make this arguably at least as good or better than Scott’s first two novels. show less

Atmospheric novel. Definitely not as dramatic as Ivanhoe. I loved the Antiquary. Since novels tend to imitate other novels, the end was slightly predictable and rather hurriedly wrapped up, reminding me of Dickens, Austen and other novelists from times when declarations of love were not recorded as dialogue :)

Scott will often show some humor in his works, This novel really shows his humor although it deals with some tragedy as well. While Scott seems to be primarily known for Ivanhoe, which is certainly one of my favorites, so many of his other works have become a great challenge to find or are no longer published and that saddens me. If you accept the challenge it is well worth your while. When reading one of his Novels occurring in Scotland it very helped me to have a glossary to look up the Scottish language that many of the secondary characters use. This novel received 5 stars from me as do many of his works

Sir Walter Scott really is one of my favorite authors, but the Scottish dialog can be a little off putting sometimes. This Oxford edition of "The ANtiquary" has a nice glossary in the back and while looking up the different words slowed me down, it alos made the conversations easier to follow. Eventually I learned some of the words and did not have to take the time to look them up. Also the notes included can be helpfull but are not necessarily mandatory tot he understanding of the story.

The description of this book states that it is Sir Walter Scott's favorite novel that he wrote. If that is ture than I can say he did not make a bad choice. Unlike many of his historical novels, this one takes place within the last 30 years from the show more time of writing. The background is a french invasion of Scotland. Scott takes time to develop several characters and it could alomost be difficult in determining which one is the main character. However, since the name of the book is "The Antiquary" it is somewhat safe to assume the antiquary is the main character. Really we get to see a little of Sir Walter Scott's humerous side in this book. The dialog between the antiquary and his neighbor, nephew and the women in his life is very entertaining. The villian with his strong german accent and his con and the way he is conned is quite entertaining as well.

As for the Antiquary himself, along with his humer, he tries to portray a very gruff exterior, but as the story proceeds, a very tender hearted and kind character is revealed. This may not be so novel now, but perhaps in the early 1800's it was. This is a novel that I would certainly recommend, but I belive it is becoming harder to find, and maybe out of print at tis time. Fortunatly I was able to find a copy at half-price books. show less

Scott started out as a poet, a very popular one. He wrote long narrative poems, a form which was soon taken up by the English poet Byron, who became more successful than Scott. Scott saw the handwriting on the wall, and turned to writing novels. The rest is history.

Scott's novels are referred to as The Waverley Novels, because the first one was called Waverley. He did not at first sign his novels: Waverley was anonymous, and the subsequent ones were published as being "by the author of Waverley." They are not a series or sequence, but independent novels each with its own plot, setting, and characters. But they are all, or almost all, historical novels. Scott was one of the originators of the historical novel genre. He is known best show more today for his novels about the Middle Ages and Renaissance, such as Ivanhoe and Kenilworth. But many of the Waverley Novels are set in seventeenth and eighteenth-century Scotland. Waverley itself is one of these, as is Scott's second novel, Guy Mannering, and this, the third, The Antiquary.

The Antiquary is said to have been Scott's favorite of his own novels. I am not sure why (personally, I would vote for Old Mortality.) Some reviewers speculate that it is because he modeled the principal character, Jonathan Oldbuck, on himself, a kind of humorous self-caricature. Oldbuck is the antiquary of the title, a small but comfortable landowner in a coastal region of northeast Scotland, with a passion for relics of Roman, Scottish, and Pictish antiquity, and a habit of uninterrupted pedantry, combined with practical good sense and a warm heart. The development and exploration of the character of Oldbuck and that of Edie Ochiltree, a wandering "licensed beggar," dominates the novel, somewhat overwhelming the adventurous, and Gothic, plot. Many of Scott's novels take forever to get off the ground, and this is one. Once they do get going, one-third to halfway through, they really take off and are fairly adventurous. But in my opinion, Scott's main interest was in characters, and this novel is particularly rich in them. I should add that Scott also had a strong interest in abstruse Scottish history, antiquity, and folklore, which he has ample opportunity to indulge in this tale.

Without discussing the bizarre and romantic plot, I can say that despite the ample Gothic touches The Antiquary falls distinctly into the comic genre, a comedy of manners and character. The history is kept in the background (unlike, for example, Waverley or Old Mortality where the history is paramount.)

The Antiquary is set in the 1790's, a period when the British Isles were in fear of invasion by the forces of the French Revolution. It is a period only about twenty years earlier than the date The Antiquary was written, as if someone today were to write a historical novel about life in the USA during Desert Storm. But today, of course, the 1790's were quite a while ago, so many references and assumptions that are unfamiliar today would have been clear to the original readers. Thus the historical situation is not explained. This is a problem with many of Scott's Scottish novels, and the reader needs an annotated edition such as the Penguin Classics or Oxford World's Classics version. A related problem is the Scottish dialect spoken by many of the characters. It can be impenetrable without some help. The Penguin version I read had a glossary and detailed footnotes which I found indispensable, but it slowed down reading considerably to be constantly flipping to the back of the book for a word or a phrase or a reference. This characteristic kept me from reading Scott's fiction for many years. I finally decided to bite the bullet and go as slow as necessary in order to learn the dialect. And it does get easier - you don't have to look up the same word too many times before you know it. But if this kind of thing robs you of all enjoyment in reading, skip Scott, or at least the Scottish novels. In my case, it has paid off, Scott has become perhaps my favorite novelist. show less