The Heart of Midlothian
Encyclopedia
The Heart of Midlothian is the seventh of Sir Walter Scott’s Waverley Novels
. It was originally published in four volumes on 25 July 1818, under the title of Tales of My Landlord
, 2nd series, and the author was given as "Jedediah Cleishbotham
, Schoolmaster and Parish-clerk of Gandercleugh". Although the identity of the author of the Waverley Novels was well-known by this time, Scott still chose to write under a pseudonym
. The book was released only seven months after the highly successful Rob Roy
. Scott was at the time recovering from illness, and wrote at an even more furious pace than usual. When the book was released, it more than matched the popularity of his last novel.
Much of the dialogue is in Lowland Scots
, and some editions carry a glossary.
The title of the book refers to the Old Tolbooth
Prison in Edinburgh
, Scotland
, at the time in the heart of the Scottish county of Midlothian
. The historical backdrop was the event known as the Porteous Riots
. In 1736, a riot broke out in Edinburgh over the execution of two smugglers. The Captain of the City Guards, Captain John Porteous
, ordered the soldiers to fire into the crowd, killing several people. Porteous was later killed by a lynch mob who stormed the Old Tolbooth.
The second, and main element of the novel was based on a story Scott claimed to have received in an unsigned letter. It was about a certain Helen Walker who had travelled all the way to London
by foot, in order to receive a royal pardon for her sister, who was unjustly charged with infanticide
. Scott put Jeanie Deans
in the place of Walker, a young woman from a family of highly devout Presbyterians. Jeanie walks to London hoping to achieve an audience with the Queen through the influence of the Duke of Argyll
.
Jeanie Deans
is the first woman among Scott's protagonist
s, and also the first to come from the lower classes. While the heroine is idealized for her religious devotion and her moral rectitude, Scott nevertheless ridicules the moral certitude represented by the branch of Presbyterianism known as Cameronian
s, represented in the novel by Jeanie’s father David. Also central to the novel is the early-18th century Jacobitism
, a theme found in so many of Scott’s novels. Scott’s sympathies can be seen in the ideal figure of the Duke of Argyll, a moderate on these issues.
The Heart of Midlothian has been adapted for the screen once, in 1914, and for television once, in 1966. Two operas have also been based upon the novel - La Prigione di Edimburgo (Imprisoned in Edinburgh) by the Italian composer Federico Ricci
(1809-1877) and Jeanie Deans by the Scottish classical composer, Hamish MacCunn
(1868–1916).
, Effie and Jeanie Deans, oil on canvas, Musée de la Vie romantique
, Hôtel Scheffer
-Renan
, Paris
Waverley Novels
The Waverley Novels are a long series of books by Sir Walter Scott. For nearly a century they were among the most popular and widely-read novels in all of Europe. Because he did not publicly acknowledge authorship until 1827, they take their name from Waverley , which was the first...
. It was originally published in four volumes on 25 July 1818, under the title of Tales of My Landlord
Tales of My Landlord
Tales of my Landlord is a series of novels by Sir Walter Scott that form a subset of the so-called Waverley Novels. There are four series:...
, 2nd series, and the author was given as "Jedediah Cleishbotham
Jedediah Cleishbotham
Jedediah Cleishbotham is an imaginary editor in Scott's Tales of My Landlord. According to Scott, he is a "Schoolmaster and Parish-clerk of Gandercleugh." Scott claimed that he had sold the stories to the publishers, and that they had been compiled by fellow schoolmaster Peter Pattieson from tales...
, Schoolmaster and Parish-clerk of Gandercleugh". Although the identity of the author of the Waverley Novels was well-known by this time, Scott still chose to write under a pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
. The book was released only seven months after the highly successful Rob Roy
Rob Roy (novel)
Rob Roy is a historical novel by Walter Scott. It is narrated by Frank Osbaldistone, the son of an English merchant who travels first to the North of England, and subsequently to the Scottish Highlands to collect a debt stolen from his father. On the way he encounters the larger-than-life title...
. Scott was at the time recovering from illness, and wrote at an even more furious pace than usual. When the book was released, it more than matched the popularity of his last novel.
Much of the dialogue is in Lowland Scots
Scots language
Scots is the Germanic language variety spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster . It is sometimes called Lowland Scots to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language variety spoken in most of the western Highlands and in the Hebrides.Since there are no universally accepted...
, and some editions carry a glossary.
Plot summary
Heart of Midlothian (Royal Mile)
The Heart of Midlothian is a heart-shaped mosaic built into the pavement near the West Door of St Giles High Kirk on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, not far from Parliament House, which was the former Parliament of Scotland, and now the site of the Court of Session and Signet Library.Together with...
Prison in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, at the time in the heart of the Scottish county of Midlothian
Midlothian
Midlothian is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and a lieutenancy area. It borders the Scottish Borders, East Lothian and the City of Edinburgh council areas....
. The historical backdrop was the event known as the Porteous Riots
Porteous Riots
The Porteous Riots surrounded the activities of Captain John Porteous, , Captain of the City Guard of Edinburgh, Scotland, who was lynched by a mob for his part in the killing of innocent civilians while ordering the men under his command to quell a disturbance during a public hanging in the...
. In 1736, a riot broke out in Edinburgh over the execution of two smugglers. The Captain of the City Guards, Captain John Porteous
Captain John Porteous
Captain John Porteous, was a Scottish soldier, Captain of the City Guard of Edinburgh .-Early life:John Porteous was born at The Glen, Quair Water, near Traquair, in the Borders, the son of Stephen Porteous, a tailor of the Canongate, Edinburgh. Little is known of his early life, except that he...
, ordered the soldiers to fire into the crowd, killing several people. Porteous was later killed by a lynch mob who stormed the Old Tolbooth.
The second, and main element of the novel was based on a story Scott claimed to have received in an unsigned letter. It was about a certain Helen Walker who had travelled all the way to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
by foot, in order to receive a royal pardon for her sister, who was unjustly charged with infanticide
Infanticide
Infanticide or infant homicide is the killing of a human infant. Neonaticide, a killing within 24 hours of a baby's birth, is most commonly done by the mother.In many past societies, certain forms of infanticide were considered permissible...
. Scott put Jeanie Deans
Jeanie Deans
Jeanie Deans is a fictional character in Sir Walter Scott's novel, The Heart of Midlothian. "Jeanie Deans" is also the name of at least two pubs,at least three passenger ships, two railway locomotives, an opera, a play, a poem, a song, a hybrid rose, an antipodean potato, and a geriatric unit in a...
in the place of Walker, a young woman from a family of highly devout Presbyterians. Jeanie walks to London hoping to achieve an audience with the Queen through the influence of the Duke of Argyll
John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll
Field Marshal John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll, 1st Duke of Greenwich KG , known as Iain Ruaidh nan Cath or Red John of the Battles, was a Scottish soldier and nobleman.-Early Life:...
.
Jeanie Deans
Jeanie Deans
Jeanie Deans is a fictional character in Sir Walter Scott's novel, The Heart of Midlothian. "Jeanie Deans" is also the name of at least two pubs,at least three passenger ships, two railway locomotives, an opera, a play, a poem, a song, a hybrid rose, an antipodean potato, and a geriatric unit in a...
is the first woman among Scott's protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
s, and also the first to come from the lower classes. While the heroine is idealized for her religious devotion and her moral rectitude, Scott nevertheless ridicules the moral certitude represented by the branch of Presbyterianism known as Cameronian
Cameronian
Cameronian was a name given to a section of the Scottish Covenanters who followed the teachings of Richard Cameron, and who were composed principally of those who signed the Sanquhar Declaration in 1680...
s, represented in the novel by Jeanie’s father David. Also central to the novel is the early-18th century Jacobitism
Jacobitism
Jacobitism was the political movement in Britain dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, later the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Kingdom of Ireland...
, a theme found in so many of Scott’s novels. Scott’s sympathies can be seen in the ideal figure of the Duke of Argyll, a moderate on these issues.
The Heart of Midlothian has been adapted for the screen once, in 1914, and for television once, in 1966. Two operas have also been based upon the novel - La Prigione di Edimburgo (Imprisoned in Edinburgh) by the Italian composer Federico Ricci
Federico Ricci
Federico Ricci , was an Italian composer, particularly of operas.Born in Naples, he was the younger brother of Luigi Ricci, with whom he collaborated on several works....
(1809-1877) and Jeanie Deans by the Scottish classical composer, Hamish MacCunn
Hamish MacCunn
thumb|right|Portrait of MacCunn, 1889, by [[John Pettie]]Hamish MacCunn , Scottish romantic composer, was born in Greenock, the son of a shipowner, and was educated at the Royal College of Music, where his teachers included Sir Hubert Parry and Sir Charles Villiers Stanford.MacCunn's first success...
(1868–1916).
Characters in "The Heart of Midlothian"
- Jeanie DeansJeanie DeansJeanie Deans is a fictional character in Sir Walter Scott's novel, The Heart of Midlothian. "Jeanie Deans" is also the name of at least two pubs,at least three passenger ships, two railway locomotives, an opera, a play, a poem, a song, a hybrid rose, an antipodean potato, and a geriatric unit in a...
, young woman and heroïne of the novel - David Deans or Davie Deans, father of Jeanie and staunch CameronianCameronianCameronian was a name given to a section of the Scottish Covenanters who followed the teachings of Richard Cameron, and who were composed principally of those who signed the Sanquhar Declaration in 1680...
. - Effie or Euphemia Deans, sister of Jeanie, the 'Lily of St. Leonards'
- Reuben Butler, fiancé of Jeanie Deans
- Bartoline Saddletree, saddle maker and employer of Effie
- Dumbiedikes, a lairdLairdA Laird is a member of the gentry and is a heritable title in Scotland. In the non-peerage table of precedence, a Laird ranks below a Baron and above an Esquire.-Etymology:...
, in love with Jeanie Deans - George Robertson, alias George Staunton, villain of the novel
- Madge Wildfire, alias Magdalen Murdockson, mad woman
- Meg or Margaret Murdockson, mother of Madge.
- Duke of ArgyleJohn Campbell, 2nd Duke of ArgyllField Marshal John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll, 1st Duke of Greenwich KG , known as Iain Ruaidh nan Cath or Red John of the Battles, was a Scottish soldier and nobleman.-Early Life:...
- Queen CarolineCaroline of AnsbachCaroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach was the queen consort of King George II of Great Britain.Her father, John Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach, was the ruler of a small German state...
External links
Painting
Ary SchefferAry Scheffer
Ary Scheffer , French painter of Dutch and German extraction, was born in Dordrecht.-Life:After the early death of his father Johann Baptist, a poor painter, Ary's mother Cornelia, herself a painter and daughter of landscapist Arie Lamme, took him to Paris and placed him in the studio of...
, Effie and Jeanie Deans, oil on canvas, Musée de la Vie romantique
Musée de la Vie Romantique
The Musée de la Vie romantique stands at the foot of Montmartre hill in the IXe arrondissement, 16 rue Chaptal, Paris, France in a 1830 hôtel particulier facing two twin-studios, a greenhouse, a small garden, and a paved courtyard. The museum is open daily except Monday. Permanent collections are...
, Hôtel Scheffer
Scheffer
-Living:*David Scheffer, former United States Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues*Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, former Secretary General of NATO*Frank Scheffer, a Dutch cinematographer*Will Scheffer, openly gay American playwright...
-Renan
Renan
Renan may refer to:Places* Renan, Virginia, United States* Renan, Switzerland, a village in the canton of BernePeople* Ernest Renan, French philosopher and writer* Renan Augustinho Marques, a Brazilian football striker born in 1983...
, Paris