Expert: Scott was a self-made superstar
Sir Walter Scott was a selfmade superstar, according to a documentary marking the 250th anniversary of the author’s birth.
Scott was an international phenomenon in the 19th Century, whose novels outsold Lord Byron and Jane Austen and changed the way the world viewed Scotland as a country.
In Search Of Sir Walter Scott, to be shown on the BBC on Tuesday, examines the author’s legacy and the “dramatic decline of his popularity” among modern book lovers.
Kirsty Archer-thompson, curator at Abbotsford, Scott’s magnificent home in the Borders, said the author was misunderstood and overcame poor childhood health to become a self-made success.
She said: “People don’t realise this was an ordinary, very sickly boy from a middle class family that had to work hard to get by, and that it was talent that got him here.”
In the documentary, presenter Damian Barr goes in search of the long-lasting influence of Scott and his writing, and his role in creating a version of Scotland we are still living with today.
He said the author had an unfair reputation: “Scott wasn’t on the shelves of many houses in Lanarkshire when I was growing up. To me and to many others Scott always seemed very posh.”