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Walter Scott

Definition: Walter Scott

Walter Scott

Noun

1. British author of historical novels and ballads (1771-1832).

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

 

Specialty Definition: Thomas Walter Scott

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

large version (60K)

Honourable Thomas Walter Scott (known less formally as Walter Scott) (1867-1938) was the first Premier of the province of Saskatchewan in Canada.

In his early adult life, Scott was a newspaper editor and publisher, becoming a partner in the Regina Standard from 1892 to 1893. From 1894 to 1895 he was the owner and editor of the Moose Jaw Times. Scott then bought the Regina Leader (known today as the Regina Leader-Post) in 1895 and was its editor until 1900.

Politics lured Scott into joining the Liberal Party and in 1900, he was elected in the riding of Assiniboia West to the Canadian House of Commons. Scott played a key role in the creation of Saskatchewan and Alberta. In August, 1905, Scott was named the leader of the Liberal Party for Saskatchewan. With the formal creation of Saskatchewan on September 1, 1905 through the passing of The Saskatchewan Act, Scott was named the first premier by Lieutenant Governor Forget. On December 13, 1905 the first general election was held where the Liberals won with 16 seats and the Provincial Rights Party had 9. Scott served as premier until 1916, when he retired from politics due to personal health issues.

The Walter Scott Building on Albert Street in Regina was named in Scott's honour and is the home of many provincial government agencies and departments.

In 2001, Gordon Barnhart released a book called Peace, Progress and Prosperity (ISBN 0889771421) which provided the first detailed biography of T. Walter Scott.

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Thomas Walter Scott."

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Walter Scott

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Sir Walter Scott (August 14 1771-September 21 1832) was a prolific Scottish historical novelist popular throughout Europe.

Born in Edinburgh in 1771, the young Walter Scott survived a childhood bout of polio that would leave him lame in his right leg for the rest of his life. After studying law at Edinburgh University, he followed in his father's footsteps and became a lawyer in his native Scotland. Beginning at age 25 he started dabbling in writing, first translating works from German then moving on to poetry. In between these two phases of his literary career, he published a three-volume set of collected Scottish ballads, The Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border. This was the first sign of his interest in Scotland and history from a literary standpoint. In 1797 he married Charlotte Carpenter, with whom he had five children.

After founding a publisher, his poetry brought him fame, beginning with "The Lay of the Last Minstrel" in 1805. He published a number of other poems over the next ten years, including the popular "Lady of the Lake" in 1810, portions of which (translated into German) found their way into Schubert's "Ave Maria".

Faced with financial difficulties with his publishing company, in 1814 he set out to write a cash-cow. The result was the anonymously published novel Waverley. It was a tale of the last Jacobite rebellion in the United Kingdom, the "Forty-Five", and a considerable success. There followed a large set of novels in next five years, each the same general vein. Mindful of his reputation as a poet, he maintained the anonymous habit he had begun with Waverley, always publishing the novels under the name "Author of Waverley" or attributed as "Tales of..." with no author. Even when it was clear that there would be no harm in coming out into the open he maintained the façade, apparently out a sense of fun. During this time the nickname "The Wizard of the North" was popularly applied to the mysterious best-selling writer. His identity as the author of the novels was widely rumoured, however.


The Scott Monument, Edinburgh
large version

In 1820 he broke away from writing about Scotland with Ivanhoe, a historical romance set in 12th-century England. It too was a runaway success and, as he did with his first novel, he unleashed a slew of books along the same lines. As his fame grew during this phase of his career, he was granted the title of baronet.

Beginning in 1825 he went into dire financial straits again, as his company nearly collapsed. That he was the author of his novels became general knowledge at this time as well. Rather than declare bankruptcy he placed his home, Abbotsford, and income into a trust belonging to his creditors, and proceeded to write his way out of debt. He kept up his prodigious output of fiction (as well as producing a non-fiction biography of Napoleon Bonaparte) through 1831. By then his health was failing, and he died at Abbotsford in 1832. Though not in the clear by then, his novels continued to sell, and he made good his debts from beyond the grave. He was buried in Dryburgh Abbey where nearby, fittingly, a large statue can be found of William Wallace -- one of Scotland's most romantic historical figures.

Scott was responsible for two major trends that carry on to this day. First, he popularized the historical novel to a considerable extent, and an enormous number of imitators (and imitators of imitators) would appear in the 19th century. It is a measure of his influence that the main train station in downtown Edinburgh (dating back to Victorian times) is called Waverley Station. Second, his Scottish novels rehabilitated Highland culture after years in the shadows following the Jacobite rebellions. It is worth noting, however, that Scott was a Lowland Scot, and that his recreations of the Highlands were more than a little fanciful. It is known that he invented many clan tartans out of whole cloth, so to speak, for a visit by George IV to Scotland in 1822. Nevertheless, even though he is less popular these days, the echoes of Waverley and its sequels still reverberate in modern times. Scott was also responsible, through a series of pseudonymous letters published in the Edinburgh Weekly News in 1826, for retaining the right of Scottish banks to issue their own banknotes, which is reflected to this day by his continued appearance on the front of all notes issued by the Bank of Scotland.

Works:

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Synonyms: Walter Scott

Synonyms: Scott (n), Sir Walter Scott (n). (additional references)

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Crosswords: Walter Scott

English words defined with "Walter Scott": adustByzantinecontorted, convolutedgracelessintricate, involvedknottylabyrinthineMacGregoroutfittedpeccable, peccantquaintRob Roy, Robert MacGregortangled, tortuousungracefulvocalicwrithed, writhen. (references)
Specialty definitions using "Walter Scott": Abbotsford, Abon Hassan, Achates, Alasnam, Apemantus, Argantes, AriostoBannatyne Club, Belvidera, Bevis', Border MinstrelFraserian, Friar Tuck, Friar's LanthornGood Time, Grandison, Great Unknown, Great Unwashed, GuendolenHeart of Midlothian, Hermite, Horse-milliner, HoussainIsaac of York, I'vanhoeKnight of the Couching LeopardLady in the Sacque, LindorMalagrowther, Man of Destiny, Marck, Mental Hallucinations, Minna Troil, Misnomers, MonimiaPamela, Pattieson, Peebles, Perilous CastleRedgauntlet, Rigdum Funnidos, RosamondShandean Exactness, Shatton, Small-backWandering Willie, White Ladies, Witham. (references)

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Modern Usage: Walter Scott

DomainUsage

Clever

What can we see in the longest kingly line in Europe, save that it runs back to a successful soldier? (references; author: Walter Scott)

A grandfather is no longer a social institution. -- Men do not live in the past. -- They merely look back. -- Forward is the universal cry. (references; author: Walter Scott)

Movie/TV Titles

The Life of Sir Walter Scott (1926)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Commercial Usage: Walter Scott

DomainTitle

Books

  • The Antiquary - Part 1 (The Works of Sir Walter Scott - Volume 5) (reference)

  • Blue Heaven Bends over All: A Novel of the Life of Sir Walter Scott (reference)

  • Ivanhoe - Part 1 (The Works of Sir Walter Scott - Volume 16) (reference)

  • Kenilworth - Part 1 (The Works of Sir Walter Scott - Volume 22) (reference)

  • Kenilworth - Part 2 (The Works of Sir Walter Scott - Volume 23) (reference)

    (more book examples)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Image Slideshow: Walter Scott

Photos:
Walter Scott

More pictures...

Illustrations:
Walter Scott

More pictures...

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Photo Album: Walter Scott

ThumbnailDescription & CreditThumbnailDescription & Credit

Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., posed in his jeep in France during World War II] / Walter Scott Shinn, New York. Credit: Library of Congress.

The tomb of Sir Walter Scott - Dryburgh Abbey. Credit: Library of Congress.

Dryburgh Abbey. Tomb of Sir Walter Scott. Credit: Library of Congress.

Sir Walter Scott, head-and-shoulders portrait. Credit: Library of Congress.

Sir Walter Scott, Bart. in his study at Abbotsford / Painted by W. Allan, R.A. ; engraved by H.S. Sadd, N.Y. Credit: Library of Congress.

  

Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits.

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Familiar Quotations: Walter Scott

AuthorQuotation

Sir Walter Scott

Look back, and smile at perils past.
But with morning cool repentance came.
Life without mirth is a lamp without oil.
Adversity is, to me at least, a tonic and a bracer.
Is death the last step? No, it is the final awakening.
Death -- the last sleep? No, it is the final awakening.
We build statues out of snow, and weep to see them melt.
As good play for nothing, you know, as work for nothing.
Faces that have charmed us the most escape us the soonest.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

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Use in Literature: Walter Scott

TitleAuthorQuote

Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

Joyce, James

There is no writer can touch sir Walter Scott.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

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Expression: Walter Scott

Expression using "Walter Scott": Sir Walter Scott. Additional references.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Frequency of Internet Keywords: Walter Scott

The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com.
 
ExpressionFrequency
per Day

sir walter scott

86

walter scott

58

ivanhoe by sir walter scott

4

marmion sir walter scott

3

sir walter scott ivanhoe

3
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Anagrams: Walter Scott

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

Words within the letters "a-c-e-l-o-r-s-t-t-t-w"

-3 letters: attestor, calottes, clatters, coattest, locaters, saltwort, sectoral, tartlets, tattlers, testator, twattles, wastelot.

-4 letters: calotte, cartels, clarets, claroes, clatter, clawers, coalers, coaster, coaters, colters, corslet, costate, costrel, cottars, cotters, crestal, escolar, lactose, lectors, locater, locates, oracles, rattles, recoals, rotates, scarlet, scatter, scowler, scrotal, settlor, solacer, starlet, startle, stretta, stretto, swatter, swotter, talcose, tartest.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Alternative Orthography: Walter Scott


Hexadecimal (or equivalents, 770AD-1900s) (references)

57 61 6C 74 65 72      53 63 6F 74 74

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519; backwards) (references)

    

Binary Code (1918-1938, probably earlier) (references)

01010111 01100001 01101100 01110100 01100101 01110010 00100000 01010011 01100011 01101111 01110100 01110100

HTML Code (1990) (references)

&#87 &#97 &#108 &#116 &#101 &#114 &#32 &#83 &#99 &#111 &#116 &#116

ISO 10646 (1991-1993) (references)

0057 0061 006C 0074 0065 0072      0053 0063 006F 0074 0074

Encryption (beginner's substitution cypher): (references)

57677886718425369818686

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INDEX

1. Definition
2. Synonyms
3. Crosswords
4. Usage: Modern
5. Usage: Commercial
6. Images: Slideshow
7. Images: Photo Album
8. Quotations: Familiar
9. Quotations: Fiction
10. Expressions
11. Expressions: Internet
12. Anagrams
13. Orthography
14. Bibliography


  

Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.