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The Pirate

walter scott

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The Pirate is a novel written by Walter Scott in 1822. It is set in the Shetland Islands, Scotland, which Scott visited. Murdaunt, the only son Mertoun has, sets sail for the islands to have a new life, but Mertoun hides his ghostly past as 'captain devil', a malevolent pirate who sailed through the Atlantic Ocean looting Spanish ships and Dutch.

511 pages, Paperback

First published January 1,1822
Places
jarlshof shetland scotland, shetland scotland, earls palace kirkwall orkney, orkney scotland, 

This edition

Format
511 pages, Paperback
Published
November 30, 2005 by Adamant Media Corporation
ISBN
9781402158650
ASIN
1402158653
Language
English
Characters More characters

More editions

About the author

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walter scott

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Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet FRSE FSAScot, was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels Ivanhoe (1819), Rob Roy (1817), Waverley (1814), Old Mortality (1816), The Heart of Mid-Lothian (1818), and The Bride of Lammermoor (1819), along with the narrative poems Marmion (1808) and The Lady of the Lake (1810). He had a major impact on European and American literature.

As an advocate, judge, and legal administrator by profession, he combined writing and editing with his daily work as Clerk of Session and Sheriff-Depute of Selkirkshire. He was prominent in Edinburgh's Tory establishment, active in the Highland Society, long time a president of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (1820–1832), and a vice president of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland (1827–1829). His knowledge of history and literary facility equipped him to establish the historical novel genre as an exemplar of European Romanticism. He became a baronet of Abbotsford in the County of Roxburgh.

Scott's work shows the influence of the 18th century Enlightenment. He thought of every individual as basically human, regardless of class, religion, politics, or ancestry. A major theme of his work is toleration. His novels express the need for social progress that does not reject the traditions of the past.

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Community Reviews

Rating(4 / 5.0, 43 votes)
5 stars
13(30%)
4 stars
16(37%)
3 stars
14(33%)
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43 reviews All reviews
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Danreis
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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Looking for something good to read over the festive season I returned to one of my favourite authors. This was the 14th novel of Scott’s I have read and it did not disappoint. Whereas several of his previous stories might be classified as historical fiction in that they have been written around significant past events in Scotland or England, this was a romantic novel set in the past. The action takes place in the Shetland and Orkney islands, in places that Scott had visited earlier in his life. This provided him with a rich resource of geographical locations, many of them wild, remote and experiencing extremes of weather. His rich descriptions of these made them feel very real. This and his strong characterisation made the book entertaining. Whilst some of the traits exhibited by his characters might be predicted from previous novels (eg. the dashing, virtuous young hero, the niggardly, sour, housewife, the eccentric ‘mad’ witch) they all play their parts in the enjoyment of the story. Add to this a strong plot, with some unexpected twists and turns, and you have a good, escapist read.

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burningkite
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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A good adventure story. In 1814 Scott visited Shetland Island on a lighthouse tour. He was inspired to write a Pirate story based on John Gow who lived in the early 1700s. The story starts with Basil Mertoun coming to the island with his son Mordaunt to escape civilization. He lives in an isolated house and avoids company. His son is more gregarious and gets out and about growing up with Magnus Troil’s daughters Brenda and Minna. All is well until Captain Cleveland is shipwrecked and saved by Mordaunt.

Cleveland manages to cause a rift between Mordaunt and the family. He also falls in love with Minna. Then a pirate ship with his comrades arrives on the island causing disruption. Norma the fitful an eccentric woman who is touched and kinswoman to Magnus makes some predictions with her mute dwarf. Some incredible reveals and a few fights makes for an entertaining novel.

There are also some colorful and comical characters with the agrarian Triptolemus Yellowley, of Harfa, a factor who has moved to the island with his miserly sister Barbara (Baby) Yellowley. The deceitful Bryce Snailsfoot, a pedlar and the long winded Claud Halcro, a bard who once met John Dryson and never tired of telling that story much to the fear of the inhabitants of the island.
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XieChen
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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I didn't enjoy this book as much as i would like to, the title had barely something to do with the actual content, i didn't finish it either, mainly because it bore me, i know someone else can enjoy it, i really don't know if i would ever try to read it again
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saoki
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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Publicada originalmente en 1821, la novela está parcialmente basada en John Gow un célebre pirata mencionado por Daniel Defoe. Este libro es una adaptación juvenil e ilustrada bastante corta y sencilla de leer editada por Ariel, en su colección “Juvenil Ilustrada”. Las supersticiones y las intrigas amorosas de Escocia y sus mitos nórdicos, son el marco en donde se desarrolla esta trama y no altamar como me imaginaba. Un relato que tiene costumbrismo, romanticismo, y aventuras.

Un barco naufraga cerca de las Islas Shetland en el punto más septentrional de Reino Unido, un lugar rústico, con tradiciones isleñas y supersticiones arraigadas. El capitán Cleveland es rescatado por el joven Mordaunt, habitante predilecto de las Islas y favorito del udaller, Magnus Troil y sus hijas Minna y Brenda. Durante el rescate aparece también la vieja Norna, de quién se cuenta, posee poderes sobrenaturales.

El amor y la magia se mezcla en los acontecimientos. Minna y Brenda se enamoran de Cleveland y Mordaunt pero no está muy clara la conformación de las parejas. Entre el pirata y el isleño surge una rivalidad por el corazón de una de las hijas del udaller. Nos enteramos que Norna tuvo un hijo que le fue arrebato y que provocó su locura. Los personajes protagónicos y secundarios están muy bien logrados; el recurso narrativo que separa las historias de los personajes por capítulos dotan de riqueza a la trama al brindar detalles de la vida de cada uno de ellos.

El ritmo empieza algo lento y va creciendo hasta un final trepidante y repleto de emoción. Además de la interesante trama, es materia de análisis el contexto socio-político-cultural lleno de bellas pinceladas y pormenores históricos. Un clásico de la literatura de piratas.
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flrytr
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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"The sexton had found her lying on the pavement in a swoon, and when she recovered, her mind for the time had totally lost its equipoise."
This is Norna of the Fitful-Head. No wonder she lost her equipoise with the plot twist that Scott had just come up with.
I thoroughly enjoyed this farrago of nonsense. It's totally unlike any other Scott I've read, and I'd recommend it for anyone with sufficient ability to suspend disbelief.
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fluffyikira
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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I never thought I'd read anything by Scott, but in researching Shetland pirates, I came across this. The style's digressive and urbane, and I like it a lot already. It's certainly not a challenging read, but it is interesting.

I'm reading the digitized 1872 edition on Google Books here.
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Mymidanimelist1
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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It's the amazing book about the amazing plase. From this book begined my love for Shetland Island.
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