Oldbuck, the title character of this Gothic novel, is not really its main character. Instead, events affecting many other characters revolve around him, leaving him relatively unaffected by it all. Indeed, very often, Scott's humorous glint in his eye appears when Oldbuck's attempts to expostulate at length on some ancient ruin are desperately thwarted by his all-too-impatient listeners. Family secrets, stores of hidden treasure, hopeless love and a night-time funeral procession to a deserted abbey help keep the reader turning pages of this story which its author stated was designed to depict the manners of Scottish society in the late eighteenth century. Not bad at all.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b064xbpk

Description: Richard Wilson stars as The Antiquary, a man who hordes secrets as well as treasures. Will his knowledge allow Lovel to marry his secret love? With David Tennant as Walter Scott.

The Antiquary (1816) is a novel by Sir Walter Scott about an amateur historian, archaeologist and collector of items of dubious antiquity. Although he is the eponymous character, he is not necessarily the hero, as many of the characters around him undergo far more significant journeys or change. Instead, he provides a central figure for other more exciting characters and events - on which he provides a sardonic commentary.

This is Scott's gothic novel, redolent with family secrets, stories of hidden treasure and hopeless love, with a mysterious, handsome, young man, benighted aristocracy and a night-time funeral procession to a ruined abbey. The romance and mystery is counterpoised by some of Scott's more down-to-earth characters, and grittily unromantic events.

Scott wrote in an advertisement to the novel that his purpose in writing it, similar to that of his novels Waverley and Guy Mannering, was to document Scottish life and manners of a certain period - in this case the last decade of the 18th century.

3* Waverley
CR The Antiquary (Waverley Novels #3)

4* Ivanhoe
3* Rob Roy
3* The Bride of Lammermoor
4* The Heart of Mid-Lothian
TR The Pirate
3* The Fair Maid of Perth

I re-discovered this book on my bookshelf at home and decided to read it. I've read a few other Waverly novels, so I'm looking forward to this one. The archaic language and phrasing should give my brain a bit of a workout, too. lol The first sentence of the "Introduction" reads: "The present Work completes a series of fictitious narratives, intended to illustrate the manners of Scotland at three different periods, WAVERLY embraced the age of our fathers, GUY MANNERING that of our own youth, and the ANTIQUARY refers to the last ten years of the eighteenth century." Sir Walter Scott is a master story-teller, and I hope to re-acquaint myself with his works. I'm so glad I have the set of novels on my bookshelf so I don't have to search for them!

Mr. Oldbuck

“womankind”

Edie Ochiltree

https://www.scotiana.com/wp-content/u...

Right up there with the very best of Walter Scott. An unusually hurried up ending almost spoiled an otherwise wonderful novel.

#Re-read

This was Scott’s next novel, and was the ‘chief favourite among all his novels’ as its titular character was drawn after his boyhood friend George Constable.

It tells the story of a gallant young officer, Major Neville, who is supposed to be illegitimate, falls in love in England with Isabella Wardour, who, in deference to the prejudices of her father, Sir Arthur Wardour, repulses him.

Under the assumed name of Lovel, he follows her to Scotland, falling in on the way with Jonathan Oldbuck, laird of Monkbarns, a learned antiquary, and a neighbour of Sir Arthur.

Lovel saves the life of Sir Arthur and his daughter at the peril of his own. He finally turns out to be the son and heir of the earl of Glenallan, and all ends happily.

The charisma of the book lies in the character of the Antiquary in which we may distinguish a portrait or caricature of Scott himself.

If you don't like spoilers, don't read the introduction to the book, which gives the ending away. Great book, with familiar Scott themes and plot structure. Interesting "coming of age" story of an elderly man who is irascible in the early part of the book, but shows his true "quality" when needed most. In addition to the antiquary, Edie Ochiltree is a terrific character who wanders in and out of the plot, providing much needed assistance to everyone he meets, performing a variety of roles, from news carrier to tinker to veterinarian. Lots of interesting characters, many amusing vignettes, and much history of the time period to enjoy.

Apparently The Antiquary was Scott's favourite among his novels, and I can see why; it might be mine too. This is a fun story of family secrets and hidden identities, and given the studious nature of the titular character, it is also chock full of literary and historical references. Sometimes I find Scott's writing a little tedious to wade through, especially with all the phonetically rendered Scottish accents, but this one wasn't too bad in that respect, which is how I managed to finish the book so quickly. (in half the time I'd anticipated). If you are already a fan of Scott's writing, you'll enjoy this, but I also believe it would not be the worst place to start if you are coming to his works for the first time. 4.5 stars from me.

A perilously slight novel, with precious little story to speak of, but so abundantly warm and charming that all other considerations are cheerfully forgotten. All in all, a delight.

This is fine—easy to follow if you skip most of the Scots. But wanting to do that seems wrong. Not much happens, either, but again, should that be a problem? Stopping here and looking to read it at a quieter time.

Joelle Still Reads Her Bookcase #58

What a fun book!

"-.Se lo digo yo señora Hadoway. El cura vive de nuestros pecados, el médico de nuestras enfermedades y el notario de nuestras desgracias."

No puedo decir q es de mis favoritos pero sin duda aporta muchísimo como marco histórico en el conflicto de los franceses contra los ingleses ya que se desarrolla en aquella época, últimamente me he topado con varias obras de Escocia y vaya q encuentro muchas diferencias con otras regiones. Vale la pena la trama por el final? Sip, si me gusto mucho el final, aunque no debería llamarse El anticuario ya q no le veo mayor relevancia, bieeen misogino y machista el viejito, para mi el mejor personaje es el mendigo JAJAJ