24 Interesting Facts About Walter Scott

Famous writer Walter Scott is arguably the most renowned native of Scotland. As a recognized master of the historical novel, he essentially created this genre from scratch, leaving behind many invaluable works.

Throughout his life, Walter Scott wrote numerous books and became famous quite quickly. His works have been translated into all major world languages.

Facts from Walter Scott’s Biography

1. He had many brothers and sisters, and the future writer was the ninth child of his parents. However, out of thirteen children, only six survived.
2. As a child, Walter Scott suffered from polio, a severe illness that left him permanently lame.
3. From a young age, people noticed Walter Scott’s phenomenal memory. He truly remembered everything he saw or heard.
4. While studying in college, Walter Scott became famous among students as a master storyteller. Not in the sense of lying, but in the sense of being a great narrator.
5. During his youth, he grew physically strong, despite his immobile right leg, and even became interested in mountaineering.
6. Walter Scott was an avid reader throughout his life, paying particular attention to the works of ancient authors and classic Scottish ballads.
7. The writer was fluent in German and even translated some poems from German.
8. Walter Scott did not decide to devote his life to literature immediately. After studying at the university, he became a lawyer, passing a very challenging exam.
9. Scott’s first love was unhappy. The image of the woman who broke his heart can be seen in many of his works.
10. While still a college student, Walter Scott founded a student poetry society.
11. Traveling around his native Scotland, the writer gathered inspiration by collecting folk legends, ballads, and tales.
12. Walter Scott published all his works anonymously, and his authorship was only confirmed years after their publication.
13. The term “freelancer,” originally meaning a free mercenary, was coined and introduced into usage by Scott.
14. Over his life, Walter Scott wrote 28 novels and 9 poems, as well as several shorter works.
15. His writing career lasted about thirty years.
16. He had four children. The writer was married once and lived his entire life with the same woman.
17. When the London Stock Exchange crashed in 1825, he refused to declare bankruptcy, unlike his publisher. Because of this, he spent many years paying off debts.
18. Walter Scott was an avid collector. He had a particular passion for various ancient artifacts.
19. In 1971, a postage stamp featuring Walter Scott was issued in the UK to commemorate his 200th birthday.
20. Scott was one of the few writers who spoke highly of Jane Austen’s work, which was not particularly popular at the time.
21. Famous American writer Mark Twain spoke rather disdainfully of Walter Scott’s work and was one of his main critics.
22. With a love for classical architecture, Scott, after becoming wealthy, bought an estate and significantly remodeled it, turning it into a castle-like structure. It is now a museum named after him.
23. Two years before his death, a stroke permanently paralyzed his right hand.
24. Walter Scott himself claimed that his phenomenal memory, which held vast amounts of knowledge, helped him create such complex and multifaceted works.