Old Mortality by Walter ScottMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book is an education. I don't get it all--war between presbyterians and episcopalians? I had no idea--but I understand so much Scottish history so much more now.
And it works as a romance with a principled hero trying to win the sweet heroine who everyone wants to marry off to someone else.
Young Morton is a man of ability though he is untried and doesn't really know what he believes or what's worth fighting for. However, he is a man of strong principles, which lead him into a revolution that no one would have expected him to take part in. Partly, he's carried along by events he can't control, and partly he acts out of a sense of conscience. It's a fine line, but the author makes it work.
The presbyterian rebels--rather uncompromising, puritan folk who believe the whole country should be run according to their idea of Biblical principles--are shown to be frequently extreme, but perhaps more in the right than the government which does not allow them to practice their religion. Morton fights against the government tyranny, but would be satisfied with a compromise--let people worship as they will. That compromising spirit puts him in a bad spot with the other rebels, who want a complete win, complete capitulation from the king (which they cannot get), and he becomes everybody's enemy.
Which makes sense--he's trying to get two extremes to be moderate, and they don't wanna, either one.
The author is a master of language in general, but I was a amazed at the way he captured the speech patterns of the radical preachers and their followers. He was mocking them (sort of), but the way he gives us long speeches with unrelated scriptural references stitched together in a jumble without any regard for the context they come from is brilliant and disturbing and really rings true, and he has pages and pages of it throughout the book. Just that aspect of the novel was tour de force stuff; Sir Walter Scott puts those of us with average or (as one hopes) somewhat better than average knowledge of such things to absolute shame.
As always, the novel is filled with memorable characters. Burley, Morton's friend and eventual enemy, is impressive and crazy and unrelenting; Cuddie, a servant, is one of those characters who everyone thinks is dumb but shows the most sense; Major Bellenden is cool, one of those old soldiers who may no longer be able to fight but still knows more than everybody around him and shows them the ropes; Jenny, another servant, knows how to get stuff done without anyone finding out; and there are so many more. One character, old Lady Margaret, is a bit foolish and a little honorable, and she presents like a Dickens character--every time she gets a chance, she works into the conversation the time the king had breakfast at her home, and everybody tries to cut her off. It's a good bit.
The pacing is a little slow compared to some other Scott novels, which is why I didn't give it all the stars, but it's still a good adventure and an excellent history and a pleasure to read. And, as always, it should be read from an old hardcover; Project Gutenberg is good and all, but no way should this be read on an iPad.
You know, unless you wanna, of course. I'm just giving ideas. :)
Recommended for Scott fans.
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