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The Edinburgh Critical Edition of the Works of John Gibson Lockhart

Narrative of the Life of Sir Walter Scott, Bart., Volume II1818 to Conclusion

By John Gibson Lockhart and Peter Garside

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Published 31 October 2026

About this book

The first critical edition of J. G. Lockhart’s classic biography of Walter Scott

  • Includes a thorough textual history, involving manuscript materials, publishing records, and newly discovered correspondence
  • Supplies extensive annotation, informed by the latest Lockhart/Scott scholarship
  • Outlines the relationship between Lockhart and Scott and provides a critical context for the work in terms of contemporary biographical practice and Lockhart’s larger literary career

This modern scholarly edition is based on the two-volume abridged edition of 1848, which in being less weighed down by supplementary materials provides a more fluent record of Lockhart’s own often personally informed narrative. Following the pattern of the original 1848 edition, Volume II offers a new perspective on its subject. Beginning with Lockhart’s first visit to Abbotsford in October 1818, it marks the commencement of his direct personal relationship with Scott, which lasted unbroken until Scott’s death in 1832. An introduction to the second volume traces this relationship and its significance. Explanatory annotation identifies elements such as allusions, personalities and events, while interrogating some of Lockhart’s more problematic statements. A special category of Textual Notes summarises omissions from the larger versions of the Life, as well as tracking new text as provided by the 1848 edition.

Reviews

What distinguishes this edition are the Explanatory Notes: they are wonderful. They incorporate, develop and consolidate those in the Edinburgh editions of the novels and poetry. They superbly indicate Lockhart’s sources and his manipulation of them. They are a magnificent guide to the Scott world.
Table of contents

Narrative of the Life of Sir Walter Scott, Bart.
Chapter I, 1818-1819
Chapter II, 1820
Chapter III, 1821-1823
Chapter IV, 1824-1825
Chapter V, 1825-1827
Chapter VI, 1827-1829
Chapter VII, 1830-1831
Chapter VIII, 1831-1832
Chapter IX, 1832-Conclusion

Appendix: Lockhart’s Notes to Scott’s ‘Memoirs’
Emendation List
Hyphenation List
Explanatory Notes
Textual Notes
Index

About the author

Peter Garside

Peter Garside was educated at Cambridge and Harvard Universities and taught English Literature for more than thirty years at Cardiff University, where he became Professor of English and Director of the Centre for Editorial and Intertextual Research. Subsequently he was appointed Professor of Bibliography and Textual Studies at the University of Edinburgh, where he is now a Professorial Fellow. He was one of the general editors of the bibliographical survey The English Novel 1770-1829 (2000) and has since co-edited the critical collection English and British Fiction 1750-1820 (2015). More recent work includes editions of Walter Scott’s Shorter Poems (2020) and J. G. Lockhart’s Peter’s Letters to His Kinsfolk (2 volumes, 2022).

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