Old Mortality
by Walter Scott
Set in 1679 during the Scottish populist upheaval known as the Covenanter Revolt, The Old Tale of Mortality is one of the outstanding historical fabrications of the nineteenth century. Henry Morton of Milnwood is forced to take up arms against the royalists, led by Claverhouse, a true villain in Scottish history and yet one of Scott's most complex characters. Shared with his loyalty to Margaret Bellenden's beautiful granddaughter Edith, the moderate Covenanter, Horton is one of the folk heroes who challenged King Charles II and changed the course of Scottish history. "Old Mortality" is Scott's undisputed masterpiece and distills the humor, grain, and romance of the west of Scotland, past and present.
