The Scottish Chiefs: Amazon.ca: Jane Porter: Books

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Review

"Fiona Price's edition of Jane Porter's The Scottish Chiefs (1810) confirms its place as a key work in the development of the Romantic novel. In her wide-ranging introduction Price not only explores the novel's reputation as an influential precursor to Walter Scott's historical romances, but also establishes its topical force as an eloquent intervention on masculinity, heroism, and patriotism written at the height of the war against Napoleon. Price's authoritative account of the author's life and literary network is a valuable contribution to the history of women's writing. The appendices, highlighting Porter's editorial supplements, the critical controversy surrounding the novel, and other versions of the legend of William Wallace, provide fascinating insights into print culture and the workings of historical memory." (Emma Clery ) --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Book Description

The Scottish Chiefs By Jane Porter. Originally published in 1931. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. Obscure Press are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork. Contents Include: The Mysterious Box Fight in The Streets of Lanark-Ellerslie Flight of Wallace Murder of Lady Wallace Corie Lin Lanark castle Death of Heselrigge Cartlane Crags-Bothwell Castle Bothwell Castle-The Priory of St Fillans The Convent of Saint Fillans Soulis Attacks Lady Helen-She is Rescued The Hermits Ceil The Forest of Glenfinlas The March to Dumbarton Capture of Dumbarton Castle The citadel Lady Mar The Rocks of Arran-The Isle of Bute Lady Mar and Wallace-Massacre-Massacre at Ayr The Seige of Berwick The March of Sterling Defeat of de Warenne Sterling Castle The Carse of Stirling-Waallace Regent of Scotland The Council Hall The Governor's Apartments

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Inside This Book (Learn More)
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First Sentence
The war which had desolated Scotland was now at an end. Read the first page

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Concordance

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Front Cover | Table of Contents | Excerpt

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Customer Reviews

17 Reviews

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Average Customer Review

4.6 out of 5 stars (17 customer reviews)

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5.0 out of 5 stars Fine Family Fare, Nov 11 2002

By

"drpegnwiz" (Kentucky) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Scottish Chiefs (Hardcover)

This tale of Scots resistance against English King Edward is essential to those who grew up with "Scots wha hae wi' Wallace bled" in their ears. Others may enjoy it more for its romance. What pleased me most was seeing the medieval (turn of 13th-14th century) history through the focus of the English author Jane Porter, whose text was published in 1809, and the 1921 edition's illustrations by N.C. Wyeth. Atheneum's reissue is well bound and printed; the book feels pleasant to the hand. Most of all, Porter's latinate sentences beg to be read aloud. Although sold for ages 9-12, the text would be difficult for many of my college freshmen. Lucky the child with a parent to read it aloud! Lucky the adult with a child to read it to, or, failing that, to have these 500+ pages on the bedside table to peruse at day's end.

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5.0 out of 5 stars William Wallace and Robert the Bruce, May 29 2002

By

Zack Davisson "japanreviewed" (Seattle, WA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Scottish Chiefs (Hardcover)

"The Scottish Chiefs" is a classic adventure tale, told in the style of Sir Walter Scott's "Rob Roy." The National Hero of Scotland, William Wallace, gets his story told with a heavy emphasis on romance and drama.

Those seeking a book version of "Braveheart" may be disappointed, as the story is quite different. The William Wallace of "The Scottish Chiefs," like the historical William Wallace, is a castle dwelling nobleman who surrenders his fortunes to fight for Scotland. The writing style is thick, and should be familiar to readers of this genre. "The Scottish Chiefs" is a huge, heavy book with a plot that unfolds at a patient pace.

This edition of "The Scottish Chiefs" contains illustrations by N.C. Wyeth, and acclaimed illustrator of Children's books and the father of artist Andrew Wyeth. The paintings are all direct scenes from the book, and capture the spirit of the adventure in fine detail.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Braveheart was good entertainment, but..., Dec 13 2001

By

S. McDuffie (Pueblo, CO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Scottish Chiefs (Hardcover)

... the fact that Jane Porter took the manuscript to this book to several leading Scottish historians and got their blessing before submitting it to her publisher resulted in a vastly more accurate representation of the true story of William Wallace than Hollywood could ever produce. I take that back, they actually could produce it, but they won't.

I recommend that everyone read it, but be sure to take notes on the places and characters (they actually are historical figures, but you know what I mean), and a map of Scotland would be helpful as well if you are not up on your UK geography (which I confess I was not). I got about a third of the way through and I realized that I had to keep thumbing back to remember who was whom. I realized that I could not continue on, the story was not making much sense because I kept getting the players confused, with the exception of the major ones, of course, I am not thick! There are nearly 100 figures in this book, several dozen of whom are mentioned more than once.

I started reading it over again, this time notebook, pen and highlighter in hand and I had a much better sense of this episode in the history of Scotland and the history of freedom. I will order and reread this book again soon, as I left my copy on a bus in Seattle right before I finished it. It is a valuable contribution to both history and literature.

I would like to give it 4.75 stars, actually because the prose was somewhat of a stumbling block for me. Porter's style of writing is like a Victorian romance novel, and was accesible but a little difficult. Ordinarily, I am just a dumb Steinbeck kind of guy.

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Most recent customer reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Horrible Story, Waaaaaaaay too much detail
I read Scottish Chiefs, and I swear, it was the most boring story I have ever read! (Don't get me wrong, I've read The Broken Arrow, which has 2004 pages, five times. Read more

Published on Jun 20 2002

1.0 out of 5 stars Laborious prose -- see 'Braveheart' instead
This book is wordy, sappy, and lacks any sense of pace or suspense. This was one of the few books that I have ever had to will myself to finish, hoping that it would get better... Read more

Published on July 12 2001 by Matthew Taylor