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Title: Rob Roy (Everyman's Library) by Walter, Sir Scott, W. M. Parker ISBN: 0460870890 Publisher: Everymans Library Pub. Date: June, 1995 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $7.95

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Average Customer Rating: 4.21

Rating: 5
Summary: 19th century historical fiction at it's best...........
Comment: Robert Louis Stevenson called "Rob Roy" Sir Walter Scott's finest achievement. I do not disagree. Set shortly after the unification of 1707, Scott tells the tale of the protestant Francis Osbaldistone as he bids adieu to his father's London commercial interests and enters, as an exile, the baronial home of his papist relations in the north. His cousin Rashleigh assumes the commercial role intended for Frank and uses his newfound access to stir loyalist feelings in the Scottish Highlands by ruining the far-flung credit of the Osbaldistone business. Frank, upon uncovering the conspiracy, sets forth to Glasgow with the mercurial gardner, Andrew Fairservice, as his guide to right the wrongs of the scheming Rashleigh. Ever dependent on the outlaw, Rob Roy MacGregor, to intervene in his behalf, Francis Osbaldistone leaps from one adventurous situation to another in his fight to clear his family name. Along the way, Frank meets and falls in love with the outspoken and beautiful Diana Vernon who aids him in his plight. Though a fair portion of this book is related in the Scottish vernacular, there is a glossary in the back of this edition that will easily point the way. Even so, the reader will confidently understand the vernacular when one-third through the book. This is a classic that can be enjoyed by anyone, particularly those interested in period and place.

Rating: 3
Summary: Definitely not Scott's best!
Comment: For those seeking the famous tale on which the recent film wasbased, this will sorely disappoint. This is Scott's tale of a youngEnglishman, son of a prosperous middle class businessman, who is sent to live w/distant cousins in the north of England (just below the Scottish border) because of his failure to live up to his father's mercantile expectations of him. Here he becomes involved with all manner of intrigue and gets pulled into a vortex of events involving rebellion against the English crown, a scheming cousin, a beautiful girl and that famous Scottish outlaw and freedom fighter, Rob Roy. But the outlaw, certainly the most interesting character in the tale, is only a side player, so to speak, and makes a number of appearances, often in disguises ( a favorite Scott motif), only to guide and/or rescue our blundering hero. This is most definitely not a tale of high adventure and derring do, and the complex and twisted intrigues of the plot do not sustain the book adequately. For those who like period pieces or the works of the masters (and Scott was certainly one), this book might be okay. But this is one of those rare instances where the movie, based apparently on Scott's preface to his book (in which he sketches out the life and times of the historical Rob Roy), is better. And frankly the movie wasn't half bad; far superior, in fact, to that other film of historical Scotland of the same vintage with Mel Gibson. Oddly enough, the Rob Roy film did worse @ the box office. Who can account for some people's taste? -- Stuart W. Mirsky

Rating: 4
Summary: Highly Entertaining Historical Fiction
Comment: Sir Walter Scott is widely acknowledged as the creator of the historical fiction genre. His best known book is Ivanhoe, which I have not read. I instead decided to read Rob Roy, a book I became familiar with due to the 1995 movie of the same name starring Liam Neeson and Tim Roth. Rob Roy, written in 1817, takes us back in time to the 1715 Jacobite uprising.

Surprisingly, Rob Roy is not the main character of the book. Rob Roy's appearances in the book are spotty, at best. Instead, Francis Osbaldistone is both narrator and main character. Francis, we quickly find out, is more interested in poetry than in business. His father, who hoped for Francis to take over the family business, becomes angry with his son and banishes him to his brother's estate, Osbaldistone Hall. Francis's relatives are all country hicks, with the exception of Diana Vernon, an astonishingly beautiful "cousin" who stays with the Osbaldistones for reasons best left unrevealed here. Francis also encounters the treacherous Rashleigh Osbaldistone, the cousin who is to replace Francis at his father's business. Francis soon becomes embroiled in several adventures, usually with Scottish sidekick/groundskeeper Andrew Fairservice and Glasgow businessman Nicol Jarvie at his side. Needless to say, Francis falls in love with Diana Vernon and becomes entangled in the machinations of the Jacobite rebellion.

I found myself amazed at Scott's depictions of women in this book. Diana Vernon is not only beautiful; she's smart, self-assured, and a very dominant figure. Rob Roy's wife, Helen MacGregor, also is presented as strong and domineering. I find this fascinating in a novel written in the early 19th century. Even more surprising is Francis; he is depicted as weak and easily dominated. Between Rashleigh, Rob Roy, and Diana, Francis never seems to know what is happening and is easily brought to emotional frenzies by the other characters. You quickly begin to wonder how this guy can get anything done.

There are two minor problems in Rob Roy. First, I'll mention the Scottish dialect. Scott, in an effort to be authentic, makes liberal use of the Scottish accent. This isn't much of a problem in the first part of the book, but in the second half it becomes a serious issue. Even worse, Scott uses the Scottish characters to reveal major plot points. Therefore, if you can't read the dialect, you're in trouble. This wouldn't be bad if a glossary had been included in the book, but there isn't one. After awhile, I realized that "bluid" was blood, and that "muckle" meant much, but the inclusion of many Scottish idioms had me totally dumbfounded. Other Scott novels in the Penguin series include a glossary of Scottish terms, but not their edition of Rob Roy.

Second, the pacing of the book is most unusual. For some 200 pages, nothing much happens. I've read many novels from this time period, and most move faster than Scott. This doesn't make Rob Roy a bad book, but it does take patience to get to the end. Even when the plot starts to thicken, Scott still takes a lot of time to unfold events. In some aspects, this lends a distinct quaintness to the book. At other times, it can become annoying. It is easy to understand how many people would lose patience with the book and give up.

This is still an entertaining book, and I highly recommend it to those interested in historical fiction. Despite a few problems I had with the book, I would like to read more of Scott's work in the future. I shall certainly look for editions with glossaries so I can navigate the Scottish words. By the way, the man on the cover of the Penguin edition is William, 18th Earl of Sutherland.