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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good Scott,
By
This review is from: Kenilworth (Hardcover)
Kenilworth is set in 1575 during the reign of Elizabeth I. It is the story of Amy Robsart who has secretly married Robert Dudley Earl of Leicester. But Leicester is the Queen's favourite and fearful that he would lose his status if his marriage became public he keeps Amy secluded in Cumnor Hall. However, such secrets are hard to keep in an Elizabethan England full of plots and intrigues between factions vying for Elizabeth's favour and as Leicester entertains the Queen at Kenilworth castle the truth will out. As usual Scott tells a good story in Kenilworth. He takes as his point of departure the known incidents of history and weaves his plot around them. He is not always faithful to the historical record, but he captures the mood of the time. His characterisation of Elizabeth is particularly fine, showing her fair and just but swift to take offence and with a devastating temper. Scott builds great tension into his plot, because it is a story rooted in a period where one false step can bring instant downfall, where the highest can be brought to the block in an instant, if Elizabeth's capricious mood turns angry. Kenilworth is quite a difficult read. Scott's scholarship was such that he often uses the language of Elizabethan times and continually refers to historical events and literary texts which are now obscure. It is for this reason that it is important to read an edition of Scott which uses the best modern experts to clarify and explain the text. The Edinburgh Edition of the Waverley Novels, published by Edinburgh and Columbia University Press, is the definitive edition of Scott and is a stunning example of modern scholarship. The glossary is full and the notes are detailed and useful. The editor, J.H. Alexander, has gone back to Scott's original manuscript and first edition to provide a text of Kenilworth which is in a number of crucial respects different from that which has been commonly read since 1831. In the end the most important thing is that this edition makes Scott easier to read and easier to enjoy. Scott ought to be enjoyed. He was one of the most popular novelists of his day and with a little practice, reading him becomes a great pleasure. Kenilworth is quite a good place to begin an acquaintance with Scott's writing. Being set in England, it has no dialogue in the old Scots dialect, which can be difficult nowadays even for Scottish people to understand. Moreover it has a fine story with many interesting characters both virtuous and villainous. It may not be one of Scott's very greatest novels, but it is a good one and well worth reading even if at times it may be something of a struggle.
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Warning! Don't read the reviews that follow -- they spoil the plot!,
By
This review is from: Kenilworth (Penguin Classics) (Mass Market Paperback)
Don't read any of the following reviews unless you've already read Kenilworth. Scott deliberately withholds from the reader key facts (facts which all of the following reviews reveal) until well after the plot has started. Anyway, I've been on a Sir Walter Scott binge recently and, of the three Scott novels I've read -- Ivanhoe, Quentin Durward and this -- I'd place this book well above Ivanhoe but equal to Quentin Durward. It takes place in Elizabethan England; it has some sword fights; it's fairly funny in parts; the plot creaks only occasionally. Still, well worth reading.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful book!,
This review is from: Kenilworth (Penguin Classics) (Mass Market Paperback)
As a ardent reader of medieval England stories, this is one book which I found as entertaining and romantic as any other book I have read. It has everything from castles and Knights in horses to damsels in distress. Scott is magnificent in the portrayal of Amy as well as Sir Walter Raleigh and Elizabeth is the crown of his characterisation. A book worth reading..
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