Counter-revolutionary or wary progressive? Critical apologist for the Stuart and Hanoverian dynasties? What are the political and cultural significances of place when Scott represents the instabilities generated by the Union? Scott's Novels and the Counter-Revolutionary Politics of Place analyses Scott’s sophisticated, counter-revolutionary interpretation of Britain's past and present in relation to those questions.
Exploring the diversity within Scott’s life and writings, as historian and political commentator, conservative committed to progress, Scotsman and Briton, lawyer and philosopher, this monograph focuses on how Scott portrays and analyses the evolution of the state through notions of place and landscape. It especially considers Scott’s response to revolution and rebellion, and his geopolitical perspective on the transition from Stuart to Hanoverian sovereignty.
Dani Napton, PhD (2010), PhD (2018), Honorary Associate at Macquarie University, has published on English literature, politics and culture 1750-1900, and co-authored and co-edited The French Revolution and the British Novel in the Romantic Period (2012).
AcknowledgmentsIntroduction 1 Compromised Authority and Confinement in The Fortunes of Nigel and Woodstock The Otherness of Scotland in The Fortunes of Nigel The Political Significance of Locale and Language in Woodstock 2 Governance and Agency in Woodstock and Peveril of the Peak A Geo-political Mapping of Woodstock The Centrality of Martindale Placing Legal and Judicial Sovereignty in Woodstock and Peveril of the Peak 3 Oppression, Justice and Monarchy in Peveril of the Peak and The Heart of Mid-Lothian Marginalization, Exploitation and Powerlessness in Peveril of the Peak Cultural Imperialism, Violence and Distance in The Heart of Mid-Lothian 4 Landscaping Justice, Rebellion and Dynastic Failure in The Heart of Mid-Lothian, Waverley and Redgauntlet A Just Landscape in The Heart of Mid-Lothian Place and Rebellion in Waverley Locale and Dynastic Failure in Redgauntlet Marginalized Sovereignty in Waverley and Redgauntlet 5 The Royal Presence as Locale: Rehabilitating the Stuart and Hanoverian Monarchies Charles i and Charles ii Charles Edward Stuart, George ii and George iiiConclusion: Homecoming, Return and Journey’s EndAppendix: Sources for Scott’s Characterization of James iSelect BibliographyIndex
All interested in 19th century English and Scottish Romantic literature, Scott's socio-political influence, and notions of landscape theory that illuminate Scott criticism and issues of sovereignty, nationalism, and governance.