1828 Tales of a Grandfather (12 Vols) Walter Scott : Stories Scottish History

Tales of a Grandfather; Being Stories Taken From Scottish History

By Sir Walter Scott

Series 1, 2 and 3

First Series (Complete in Three Volumes, 1828)
Second Series (Complete in Three Volumes, 1829)
Third Series (Complete in Three Volumes, 1830)
Fourth Series; France (Complete in Three Volumes, 1831)

All 12 volumes printed for Cadell and Co, Edinburgh. Quarter leather bindings. Twelve Volumes all in. The books measure 14 x 9cm. Each volume carries an engraved frontispiece and engraved title page, as well as a letterpress title page.

CONDITION
All 12 volumes in good condition. The leather bindings are very good except for volume I of the fourth series which has a couple of marks to the spine. Endpapers good throughout. No writing or names to the books. All contents present and pages good throughout with perhaps the odd small grubby mark to the odd page, but generally very good. All engraved title pages and frositpieces are present and in good order. Overall a very good set.

Tales of a Grandfather is a series of books on the history of Scotland, written by Sir Walter Scott, who originally intended it for his grandson. The books were published between 1828 and 1830 by A & C Black. In the 19th century, the study of Scottish history focused mainly on cultural traditions and therefore, in Scott’s books, while the timeline of events is accurate, many anecdotes are either folk stories or inventions.

In May 1827, Scott came up with the idea of writing the History of Scotland addressed to his six-year-old grandchild, John Hugh Lockhart. The project was partly inspired by the success of John Wilson Croker's Stories for Children Selected from the History of England.

The First Series comprised the period between the reign of Macbeth (1033) and the Union of the Crowns (1603), and it was published in December 1827 with the intention of introducing it to the Christmas market. The sales were so high that, before the end of the month, Cadell had already ordered a revised and enlarged edition.

In May 1828, Scott decided to write a Second Series of Tales. He ended the series on the Union of England and Scotland (1707), which was completed in September 1828 and published two months later. The Third Series, which lead up to the aftermath of the Battle of Culloden (1746), came out in December 1829.

In July 1830, he agreed to write a fourth series dealing with French history from Charlemagne to Louis XIV. Published in December 1830, the Fourth Series was as well-received by the public as the earlier Tales.

(Platform; Literature)