Waverley

First published with great success in 1814, Scott's first novel is set in the Scotland of 1745, amidst the Jacobite uprising. Widely considered the first English historical novel, this story of self-discovery follows the young Edward Waverley, an English soldier in the Hanoverian army. He is sent to Scotland, and there he visits both the Lowlands and the Highlands. Waverley meets both lairds and chieftains, and he is soon caught up in both the Jacobite cause and in romantic feelings for the lovely daughter of Baron Bradwardine, Rose, and the passionately political Flora Mac-Ivor, sister to Chieftain Fergus. Full of beautiful description of the natural scenery of Scotland, Scott drew on his childhood memories and talent as a writer to conserve a piece of history and a way of life threatened by civil war.