Nairn Book & Arts Festival

His name and image are everywhere – from Bank of Scotland fivers to the monument in Edinburgh’s city centre – yet who reads Walter Scott these days?  In his new book, Stuart Kelly explores the enigma of Scott and the disparity between his influence and his status, his current standing and his cultural legacy in a voyage around Scotland.  Scott trained as a lawyer.  After the phenomenal success of his novel Waverley, he produced a string of novels including Rob Roy and Ivanhoe, which strongly influenced many major writers, and yet he found himself massively in debt and by the time of his death in 1832 he was still trying to write himself out of it.

Born and raised in the Scottish Borders, Stuart Kelly is the Literary Editor of Scotland on Sunday, and a freelance critic and writer.