Last Chance to See by Douglas Adams & Mark Carwardine

Source of book: Borrowed from and recommended by my friend Christel Ruddy

The late Douglas Adams is best known as the author of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy science fiction series. Mark Carwardine is a zoologist, photographer, and writer who is primarily known for this book and the related BBC radio and television productions.

Those familiar with Hitchhiker’s Guide will need no explanation of Adams’ rather dark and dry humor. Those who are not may be puzzled by references to towels, improbability, and the number forty-two by us fans. Regardless of which category the reader is in, this book is worth a look.

Adams and Carwardine decide to take an extended trip to attempt to see the world’s most endangered animal species. Their adventures were originally told as a BBC radio series, with most of the episodes eventually written down as the basis for this book. Two were omitted due to Adams’ inability to meet deadlines. (He famously said: “"I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by.") The book is the story of their wanderings, and a compelling argument for continued conservation efforts.

This book was written in 1990, so more than 20 years have passed since Adams and Carwardine conducted their searches. In that time, one of the species (the Yangtze River Dolphin) has probably gone extinct, and a few of the others remain critically endangered. For others, however, their numbers are on the increase, largely as a result of conservation efforts. Thus, the book is both heartening and disheartening.

Adams appears to have done most of the writing, as the story is told from his point of view, and with his characteristic humor.

Adams also wrote from a purely naturalistic point of view, which leads to a few philosophical inconsistencies. The first is a typical conundrum: if everything came into being through random mutation and natural selection, extinction should be considered to be a natural and even desirable event. Why attempt to preserve that which is not fit, or at least not the fittest?

The second inconsistency is raised by Adams himself in a musing on question of evil. From a purely philosophical point of view, Adams does not consider evil as being any more than an opinion, a result of rules made by human thought. On the other, he clearly believes that certain other people are evil. For example, he believes that those who thoughtlessly kill endangered animals are evil. He also has nothing but loathing for gauche tourists, although he admits that he cannot come up with a legitimate reason for his belief. At least Adams is honest enough to admit the inconsistency.

The reader’s opinion of the writing style will probably depend on his or her tolerance for dry, snarky humor. This book has much in common with Mark Twain’s travelogues, although it is not nearly as detailed or polished. At his worst, Adams begins to sound like Marvin, the depressed robot, who is more tolerable as a fictional character than as a narrator. At his best, however, Adams is delightful. For example, in speaking of the bureaucracy left behind in post-colonial Africa: “You can always tell an ex-colony from the inordinate numbers of people who are able to find employment stopping anybody who has anything to do from doing it.”

This book looks more imposing that it is, with thick pages and largish print making for a quick read. It succeeds in bringing the raw edge of last-ditch conservation to life. For those of us who view the world as a creation, it is a sobering reminder of what we have lost, and what we could never see again.

Literary and Musical Highlights from this Christmas

When I was a kid, there was one present that was sure to please me, regardless of size or cost: Legos. If you wanted to be sure the gift would be loved, that was the easiest way. The other sure-fire gift was that of books. While not all books would be equally loved, it was not hard to find me a book I would like. Aunt Patty, I still remember Watership Down – I even wore out the original copy.

Now that I am mostly grown up, my kids get the legos (don’t ask who plays with them), but I still get the books. Music can also be a good gift, now that Amazon wish lists are available to determine which titles are not already part of my collection. (That’s the hazard of buying music for a musician.)

This Christmas demonstrated that my family knows me pretty well. A few new additions that I am particularly excited about this year:

[Note: this post has been updated with links to my reviews of these books.]

1. Gitanjali (Offerings of Song) by Rabindranath Tagore

 Technically, this is a birthday present, not a Christmas present. It just took my brother until Christmas to remember to bring it. This is Tagore’s most famous collection of poems, the one best known to the Western world. He became the first non-European author to receive the Nobel Prize in literature as a result. The book itself is a gorgeous small hardback, illustrated with paintings by Mark W. McGinnis. I’m really eager to read this, but it is one of those books that are fun even to hold.

2. Inferno by Dante, translated by Robert Pinsky

 My beloved wife knew I had been lusting after this book. I already have two versions of the complete Divine Comedy, each of which is completely different and interesting in its own way. I am already a huge fan of Pinsky both for his own poetry and his ongoing efforts to bring the discussion and love of poetry to a wider audience. When I read a small sample of this translation, I was hooked. If the small taste is an indication of the whole, this will be an exciting adventure.

3. How to Write a Sentence by Stanley Fish

I already have Strunk & White (if I have to explain, you probably wouldn’t care anyway), and a host of other books on writing and style. Grammar snobs across the literary world have lauded this book. Thus, it belongs on my shelf.

4. England Under the Stuarts by G. M. Trevelyan

 This book is one in the History of England series by Trevelyan. My wife, who knows library sales like none other, found this used (but probably unread) Folio Society hardback for next to nothing. Another beautiful book just begging to be savored late at night with a glass of claret or port. Although, since the Stuarts were from Scotland, perhaps a fine scotch would fit better.

5. Lux Æterna by Morten Lauridsen

 This one is music, not reading. Lauridsen is a modern, but not modernist, composer. Lux Æterna is a choral work, almost, but not exactly, a requiem. I hope some day to write a longer blog post on requiems. They fascinate and speak to me in a powerful way, which I would love to explore in words. This CD also contains Les Chansons des Roses, Ave Maria, and Mid-Winter Songs. I am not familiar with these works. Something new to go with something beloved. Thanks to my sister-in-law and her husband for this one.

Reading A Christmas Carol with my Kids

Source of book: I own several copies. See below for notes on the edition.

Every year, for the last five years, I have spent the week after our insane week of rehearsals and performances of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker ballet reading one of Charles Dickens’ Christmas novels. Last year, I read the last in the series, The Haunted Man. My review of that book resulted in the first print publication of my writing. (I now have a weekly column for our local bar association’s newsletter. No, I don’t make a dime off it, but it starts conversations, which is surprisingly fun.) This year, I decided to introduce my children to the joys of Charles Dickens.

My first introduction to Dickens was when I was about 9 or 10. My mother loved David Copperfield, and read it to us as soon as she thought we could understand it. My sister must have been about 6, so I figured my girls at least would be ready. So yes, I came from a weird family, and am doing my best to carry on the family tradition.

We read this over a period of four days. The book itself is divided into five sections, labeled “Staves”. (A stave is one of the five lines in a musical staff. It’s a carol. Get it? All of the Christmas novels have some sort of internal reference in the chapter headings.) The last section, the epilogue, is short, so I combined it with the previous section on the last day.

I admit I had a great deal of fun using proper voices for this book. Grouchy old Scrooge is particularly fun, as are Marley and the Christmas Ghosts. That part of the story was easy for the kids. Where it got harder was when Dickens described the past and future events. The references are a bit elliptical, to say the least – best understood if one has both knowledge of the nineteenth century and familiarity with Dickens’ writing style. I had to stop every few paragraphs and give the kids a synopsis of what was really going on. Fortunately, they have good attention spans and were willing to let the story unfold slowly. Ok, so Fritz fell asleep a few times, but he is only three.

Since I became a parent, I have been amazed at how early children develop a sense of justice. This develops far more quickly than their speech. They know they have been slighted, even when all they can do is scream about it. Thus, Scrooge, with his “humbug” and “surplus population” and all was instantly a compelling character. So too were the ghosts, with each his unique appearance and voice. Or lack thereof. The final ghost is spookiest of all because all he does is point.

I imagine most people are already familiar with the plot. I did some online research last year, and found over a dozen movies based on this book. I even suspect that more people could recite the plot than could coherently give the original Christmas story. This is, after all, one of the most memorable plots of all time.

If you have not read this, what on earth are you waiting for? It is roughly 100 pages – easily readable in a few evenings. It is also a good introduction to the good and the flawed aspects of Dickens’ writing.

As a follow up, the kids and I watched A Muppet Christmas Carol this evening. While no substitute for reading the real thing, this version is remarkably true to the original in both substance and spirit. Having read the book immediately prior, I was impressed again with how many of the best lines from the book made it directly into the movie – a movie aimed at children, no less! The two versions I am partial to are the Alistair Sim rendition, Scrooge (1951) and the Muppet movie. Despite their different approaches, they best capture that actual spirit of the book.

Anyway, the kids remembered the plot exceedingly well by the time we got to the movie. I was impressed that Ella particularly had carefully noted what each ghost looked like, and was able to point out to Fritz who all the characters were. Perhaps next year we will read this one again, or continue with The Cricket on the Hearth.

For tonight, I will go to bed with the memory of the sound of Fritz saying, “Ebenee Scooge” and “Fozziwig”.

Notes on the edition:

I own at least three copies of this book. The first is part of a Heritage Books collection of Dickens that I have collected over the last 20 years. I received my first few from Dale Brooks, who was kind enough to introduce me to both P. G. Wodehouse and Anthony Trollope when I was a teen. The five Christmas novels were one of these first books. The second is part of the Reader’s Digest hardback series The World’s Best Reading. These should not be confused with the condensed books from the same publisher. These are all unabridged classics in a good quality hardback binding. I have collected nearly 100 of these one at a time from used book stores, eBay, thrift stores, and library sales. My first was Twain’s The Innocents Abroad, which is still one of my favorite books. The last is the edition that we read from this time. Published by Candlewick Press, it was a gift from my mother-in-law several years ago. (This alone should tell you how blessed I am to have her as a relative.) This book is gorgeously illustrated on at least every other page. Usually, I am disappointed by the modern illustrations in Dickens, being partial to the originals by “Phiz” and George Cruikshank and others. (A good website for the originals is: http://charlesdickenspage.com/illustrations.html) In this book, P. J. Lynch as done an excellent job of capturing the nuance of the prose. Each character looks precisely as he or she should, but with a more modern feel to the backgrounds and atmosphere. I can highly recommend this edition as an excellent hardback and an essential part of any serious library. 

Hep-Cats, Narcs, and Pipe Dreams by Jill Jonnes

Source of book: Library

One of my favorite judicial officers of all time is now-retired Judge Frank Hoover. Judge Hoover served as a Superior Court Judge here in Kern County for many years, but also was instrumental in the establishment of Drug Courts throughout the United States. Toward the end of his career, he was assigned to hear family law cases, which is how I came to know him.

Judge Hoover has a great sense of humor, and a knack for the pithy saying. My two favorites are:

“Most folks get their political opinions from reading the whole bumper sticker.”

“Just because something has failed in the past has never stopped us from doing it over and over again, with more money.”

I came to appreciate the second one after speaking with Judge Hoover in preparation for a training on drug abuse that he gave to a section of our County bar association. We had discussed some possible approaches to the subject, and he mentioned that I should read a book that had been an important influence on his thinking. Fortunately our local library had a copy, as this book is unfortunately out of print.

This book is a history of illegal drugs in the United States. It draws extensively on primary sources from the past 150 years, so the narrative is flavored by the writing and views of each era. Thus, the purple prose of the ads for patent medicine in the 1890s and the breathless hyperbole of the reporting on the crack epidemic in the 1980s are both on view. 

The book starts out with the innocent era when opioids and coca were considered to be all-purpose medicines. Coca-Cola, of course, used to contain a significant quantity of cocaine. Morphine and heroin were even marketed to children, as in the case of “Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Syrup. 

"For children teething. Greatly facilitates the process of Teething, by softening the gums, reducing all inflammation; will allay ALL PAIN and spasmodic action, and is SURE TO REGULATE THE BOWELS. Depend on it, Mothers, it will give rest to yourselves and RELIEF AND HEALTH TO YOUR INFANTS. Sold by all chemists, at 1s 1/2d per bottle."

Eventually, of course, it became clear that these drugs were addictive, and led to a host of related problems. Despite what legalization proponents say, the problem would not simply go away with removal of the criminal prosecution. A significant majority of those addicted are not fit to work or participate in mainstream society.

The author refers to this era as the first American drug epidemic. It started primarily amount white, middle class women; spreading eventually to the typical addict demographic: young, poor men alienated from mainstream society.

Initially, enforcement focused on regulating the use of narcotics in medicine and in keeping doctors from prescribing to addicts. The problem spread beyond this, however, and the same sources for illegal alcohol during prohibition found that distribution of heroin was even more lucrative.

This era came to an end primarily through the disruption of supply during World War Two. Most of the refining occurred in Europe, and the effects of the war combined with the general blockade of shipping to essentially eliminate the supply for a time.

Although this temporarily sobered up thousands of addicts, there was still the problem of what to do with them. As soon as the supply returned, many if not most would simply resume the habit. At this time, methadone treatment was first used, with some success. Not everyone considered it a success, however, and a division arose which persists to this day. Is the point of drug treatment to attain complete abstinence from all use, or is it to enable the addict to function in society? Is it enough that a person is able to hold a job and care for his or her family, or is the use of any opioid immoral in itself? This, of course, was an argument applied to alcohol during prohibition. 

The second epidemic started after the war, among the black jazz culture. At this time, what we think of as “drug culture” really started to take shape. Being “hep” was linked to drug use, which then became a requirement of participation in “hep” culture. Music and drugs were linked in a way that has unfortunately endured. As Artie Shaw said at the time, “Jazz was born in a whiskey barrel, grew up on marijuana, and is about to expire on heroin.”

This time, the spread was reversed: drugs went from a lower class habit to a more widespread phenomenon. The concept of alienation from the mainstream was no longer looked on as a disadvantage, but as an advantage.

At the height of this second epidemic came true missionaries of drug use such as Timothy Leary and Allen Ginsburg, who believed that drugs could be the gateway to self-improvement.

Eventually, however, the effects of drugs became clear as they did during the first epidemic, and public opinion changed again. Enforcement became more of a priority at this time.  

Of course, by this time, it was much harder to control supply. Production had spread to Southeast Asia, which was under Communist threat. The CIA actually encouraged anti-Communist groups to fund themselves using drug production – perhaps not the best of decisions in hindsight.

The third epidemic occurred in the 1980s and 90s with cocaine. This time, a repeat of the first epidemic occurred: use started among the upper and middle classes. Cocaine was expensive and thus somewhat self limiting. However, it was still dangerous and addictive even in the powder form. The death of athlete Len Bias brought this fact home in dramatic fashion.

The drug made its transition to the lower class with the development of crack cocaine which was less expensive, at least at the outset. The alarming fact about the spread of crack is that it appeared to appeal to women like no other drug before it. Heroin tended to be primarily (although not exclusively) a male drug of choice, perhaps because of the use of needles. Crack could be smoked, and this seemed to increase its appeal.

This book was written in the 1990s, so it misses what is probably the fourth epidemic, methamphetamine. Since Kern County is a major source of meth, it is quite popular among the local addicts, and the drug is a constant topic in the news.

In addition to the history of addiction, this book tells the history of enforcement. This portion reads like a tragic farce. From the beginning, the enforcement agencies have been vulnerable to infighting and corruption, to lack of focus, to failure to anticipate or notice new trends, and to conflict with other national and international goals.

The author posits that there are three essential facets to the fight against addiction. First, drug culture must be addressed. If the culture shrinks, the number of addicts should shrink as well. If fewer young people get started using, then the older addicts will die off and not be replaced. In each case where drug use has shrunk, this was the case.

The second facet is the treatment of addiction. While no cure has a great success rate, those that involve extended inpatient treatment seem to work better. Oddly, both voluntary and involuntary programs have statistically similar rates, which gives hope that not all recovery need start with the addict. Drug court in particular seemed to have many positive effects. The threat of jail time (which would typically be used once or twice with a given addict), regular testing and accountability, and positive social reinforcement combine to be fairly effective. If recovery was not a possibility, there would be far more addicts today. In 1985, a survey was done that revealed that fully 1/3 of those ages 18-25 claimed to have tried cocaine. Clearly only a small percentage of those were unable to eventually lead normal lives.

The third facet is the one that has unfortunately been the hardest to address: international control of the sources. Originally, it was the first world countries that produced narcotics. Thus, they were subject to international pressure and sanctions. This is not the case with most third world drug producing countries. With each epidemic, the distribution and sourcing has grown to be bigger and more violent, with the cartels now able to behave like political and military entities of their own. Until supply is severely restricted, there will always be a problem.

Judge Hoover position, as he explained it to me, is that we tend to look at the drug problem as a government problem, one with a law enforcement solution. In reality, it is a social and family problem. Drug culture and the growth of fatherless families have fed off each other in a self-reinforcing cycle. This problem will have to have a solution within society and the culture rather than simple government intervention.

If you can find this book, by all means read it. Addiction affects nearly every family, and a better understanding of the history behind the present situation sheds light on what has and has not been effective. It also promotes careful thought as an alternative to simple solutions that fit on bumper stickers.

The Big Book of Beastly Mispronunciations by Charles Harrington Elster

Source of Book: I own this – library sale find

One of the big pitfalls for the avid reader is that of learning words from reading and not from speaking. In our glorious language of English, where the spelling of words is remarkably disconnected from their pronunciation, this can lead to mispronounced words. I certainly have been guilty of this, and have heard plenty of violations from others.

This book is a significant aid in overcoming that problem. Elster combines his two previous pronunciation guides, Is There a Cow in Moscow? and There is no Zoo in Zoology in one larger volume.

This book has been a very long term project for me. I have read little bits here and there for the last two years. A little at a time is best anyway, at least if the intent is to remember what has been read.

One of the first things I realized when reading this book is that pronunciations vary with time and place. Language tends to evolve over time, and many pronunciations from 100 years ago would sound absurd now. It also became obvious that, Henry Higgins notwithstanding, our neighbors across the ocean are as bad as we are. Not only have we adopted British pronunciations, often as a pseudo-sophisticated affectation; they have done the same with our peculiarities.

Also interesting to me were the words that appear to be in transition. The ostensibly correct pronunciation has been nearly lost, and a formerly unthinkable one has risen to prominence. This means that I disagreed in a few cases with the author.

In other cases, I discovered some incorrect or at least sloppy mispronunciations of my own. A few arose from hearing them mispronounced by others, but most came from lack of use in actual speech. I simply imagined what they would sound like from seeing the words on the page.

I particularly liked Elster’s explanations of common pronunciations, either correct or incorrect. For example, he introduces the concept of syncope (SING-kuh-pee), which is the loss of sounds or letters from the middle of words. This has occurred in very old words, such as Worcestershire (WUUS-tur-shur); and in common, everyday words like family and chocolate. In many cases, the compressed pronunciation is quite correct. However, this has led to errors in spelling as the omitted letters are actually omitted.

Elster also details which words should have all of the sounds pronounced. A lawyer, for example, would use subsidiary, and pronounce it suhb-SID-ee-ER-ee.

There are other interesting tidbits here and there, such as word history and origin. English has borrowed from many languages, including Latin and French. Some of these thefts occurred hundreds of years ago, so attempting to pronounce the words in the original language is incorrect, and pretentious. In other cases, the theft is recent, and the word itself may not have fully crossed over to and anglicized pronunciation. Elster particularly condemns using “pseudo-French” or “pseudo-Latin” by mixing the original and the anglicized pronunciation in the same word.

And then, there are the cases where the two are in conflict. I had a bit of a dispute with a cousin of mine regarding the unforgettable knight of fiction created by Miguel de Cervantes. Don Quixote is correctly pronounced kee-HOH-tay or kee-HOH-tee. If you can manage the actual Spanish pronunciation, even better. Despite being a figment of fiction, he is a “real” person, and should have his name pronounced as he would wish. By contrast, the adjective quixotic is pronounced kwik-SAHT-ik, as the term has been anglicized for centuries.

I also should mention two entries that particularly stuck in my mind.

First is the word “zounds”. (Rhyming with rounds, by the way.) I assumed this word originated in the 1960s along with groovy. So much for that theory. Elster traced it to a contraction of a profanity first seen in print in the 1600s. (It is shorthand for “by God’s wounds”. Who knew?) Why this one survived and ’sblood didn’t is one of the mysteries of life.

Second is synecdoche (si-NEK-duh-kee), which I had observed in print, but lacked the confidence to say in public. I thus avoided it in writing for fear that I might be asked about it and misspeak. Now that I know without a doubt, I intend to use this word in future reviews and essays. You have been warned!

This book is an excellent addition to the reader, writer, and speaker’s bookshelf. It shall reside on mine with other favorite reference books: Strunk & White, Eats, Shoots, and Leaves, and a few by Richard Lederer.

My Review of The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

Source of book: My wife owns this book

I am at a bit of a loss to describe what this book actually is. It is a detective story of a sort. It also has elements of science fiction. It has really bad puns. It inhabits a very peculiar world that warrants exploration – but the book was too short to do it justice. It does, however, have sequels, which could be interesting.

The basic alternate reality that Fforde creates is one where the Crimean War never ended, Churchill died young, and Hitler was stopped by a powerful and ruthless corporation. England and Wales are separate countries with their own cold war. England itself has become a police state with secret agencies whose purposes are unknown, perhaps even to their agents. Yes, plural agencies, including one responsible for policing literature. In this universe, literature is taken extremely seriously. Imagine Raider fans, but with Shakespearean conspiracy theories.

The final piece of “reality” in this universe is that literature has its own literal world, and that it is possible to cross over to that world from the “real” world. If this were not already odd, it is apparently possible for mortals to alter literature if they are able to enter the world of a book through its original manuscript. Thus, if one were to kill a character of a novel, he would no longer exist in any copy of the novel thereafter.

The protagonist of this book and its sequels is Thursday Next, a rather hard boiled “LiteraTec” agent. As this description hints, this is a detective story rather in the tradition of “American” detective stories. In addition to the familiar heroine, the other elements are present. There is never really any question who committed the crime. The plot concerns the tracking and neutralization of the villain, not the solving of any mystery. This is an odd combination at first, the American detective story as written by an Englishman and set in an imaginary, dystopian England.

I try not to ruin carefully laid plots with spoilers, so I will not further describe the details of the story.

This book is the least serious book I have read this year, and I was due for a light read. Again, classification is difficult because this book doesn’t fit a well defined category. I originally argued to my wife that it also lacked a target category of reader. After all, it is best read by those who have an extensive knowledge of the English classics, a large vocabulary, and a good grasp of history. However, it also is too short and too fast paced to really be considered deep or anything more than a weekend paperback. My wife did point out that she and a few friends love Fforde, and they appear to sell reasonably well. Thus, there must be non-literary sorts that read these as well. Who knows?

I will admit that it is unfair to judge this book without reading the later books in the series, as my wife considers the sequels to be better written. What I found disappointing in this particular book is that there are a number of interesting ideas that are never developed. While we get to know Thursday Next fairly well, and get a bit of information about the villain, Acheron Hades, the rest of the characters are mere names without personalities in any true sense. Some are “expendable crewmen”, of course, but I found I could not remember most of the other characters. Okay, so the batty inventor uncle was memorable, but that’s it.

Fforde also hints at political commentary. Again, it is never truly developed, and is jettisoned as the plot picks up speed.

The strength of the book is the detective narrative itself. If Fforde had spent less time on back story, this might have been a memorable page turner for that alone. Alternately, had his word count allowed him to develop both characters and politics, this could have been a farce or satire. So, one can either sigh at what might have been, or enjoy what really is an enjoyable book that gets better as it goes on.

A caution: there is a good bit of violence and vulgarity in this book, including some rather unprintable puns. Nothing particularly shocking for the hard-boiled genre, and common in most modern novels. Fortunately, Fforde did not feel it necessary to add sex, which would have been irrelevant to the story. Don’t get me wrong: sex can be important to a narrative; but too often these days, it just distracts from a plot that was running right along fine without it.

This book was definitely not a waste of time, but also is unlikely to end up stuck in my memory like some of the others I have read recently. Take this one on vacation, or use it to escape from reality for a while. Sometimes we all need a light read.

Heart of Midlothian by Sir Walter Scott

Original Date of Review: November 16, 2010. Also published in the Res Ipsa Loquitur.
Source of Book: I own this (actually community property - my wife brought this to the marriage) See note at the bottom regarding the edition. 

Sir Walter will have a place in my pantheon of cool writers for the fact that his first career was law. He also wrote some great books, of course. Also sweet was the fact that he grew up here:

For those who care about old books, I have a note at the end of this review on the particular edition we own of this book.

Scott began his literary career writing poetry. He was successful enough to be offered the position of Poet Laureate – which he declined. Of course, the second choice, Robert Southey, was pretty decent himself.

The novels came later. Scott went into partnership to start a publishing house, which was a bit less than successful. His partner probably cheated him, and in any event, he ended up in debt. Scott refused to declare bankruptcy, but wrote at a furious pace up until his death to pay back the creditors. Being aware of his reputation as a poet, he released his novels anonymously at first. Eventually, his identity was guessed, and he confessed to being “the author of Waverly”.

Scott was a contemporary of Jane Austen. At the time, he was much more popular. More recently, however, as Austen has gained in reputation, Scott has suffered in comparison. In my opinion, this is unfortunate. Austen certainly deserves her good reputation – indeed, Scott was one of the first to recognize her genius. Scott deserves a second look by those who have dismissed him.

Scott has received criticism for being wordy and perhaps ponderous. It is true that, like many novelists of that time (and after), he takes his time. Of course, the same should be said of the likes of Dickens, Tolstoy, Joyce, and many others. Brevity may be the soul of wit, but it is rarely to be found in long form fiction. But perhaps this is part of the attraction of a well written novel. The slower pace allows the characters to develop, the language to flower, and the reader to become immersed in the story’s world.

Waverley is generally considered to be the first historical novel. Scott essentially invented the genre, and few have matched his skill. Ivanhoe, The Talisman, and Kenilworth live on in the popular consciousness, even though few realize it. Much of what we believe about King Richard the Lion Hearted and Queen Elizabeth I come from these novels. Disney’s animated Robin Hood steals whole scenes from Ivanhoe, for example.

The Heart of Midlothian is one of Scott’s Scottish novels. It is set primarily in Scotland, and makes extensive use of the dialect. Interestingly, the novel is primarily about women. Scott seems to have had a soft spot in his writings for strong female characters, from Rebecca in Ivanhoe to Queen Elizabeth in Kenilworth. In this particular book, the central character is Jeanie Deans, the daughter of a cowherd. When her sister is accused of murdering her illegitimate child, Jeanie decides to take a solo trip on foot to London to ask a pardon from the King.

Jeanie is truly one of the most admirable heroines of all literature. She is torn between her love for her sister and her determination to do the right thing at all times. Thus, she cannot perjure herself at her sister’s trial; but is willing to undertake the journey despite never venturing more than a few miles from her home. As evidenced by his payment of his debts, Scott himself had a strong sense of right and wrong, and probably struggled himself with the question presented. The struggle between moral and personal sacrifice is the theme of the book, and the answers that each character gives to the central question to a large degree determines that character’s ultimate destiny.

Not only is Jeanie the heroine of the novel, the villain and several other main characters are female, covering a broad spectrum of characters. Modern readers should note that Scott, like Austen, was a product of his era. For the time, Scott’s females were considered somewhat revolutionary in attitude, even while more or less remaining in roles approved by society.

Another feature of the book that I, at least, found interesting, was the theological humor. Jeanie’s father is what could be described as a fundamentalist Presbyterian. Neither the Church of England (horrors!) or most of the local Scottish clergy could rightfully be considered part of the faithful to him. Of all the awful things a person could be, the worst was an Arminian. A basic knowledge of the Scottish version of Calvinism is helpful to appreciate the wit in this matter.

I highly recommend Scott as an unjustly neglected author. My advice is to embrace the archaic, garrulous language and leisurely pace. Accept the fact that you must read at least 50 pages before the story starts to get going. If you have never read Scott, I would recommend starting with Ivanhoe, as it avoids the Scotch dialects and contains a good quantity of swashbuckling adventure. However, once you get a feel for Scott’s art, The Heart of Midlothian is well worth a read.

Note on the Edition:


Amanda purchased two of what was originally some sort of set of Scott’s works. These were published in 1884, and were at one point part of the W. Q. Judge Library in Halycon, CA.


Who was W. Q. Judge, and what is the story of his library? This is where the story gets interesting. William Quan Judge was, of all things, a lawyer born in Ireland, who became an important member of the Theosophical Society, a cult of the late 1880s. A group of said Theosophists formed a community called Halycon, which is located just south of Arroyo Grande. (For non-Californians, this is just south of Pismo Beach. Take the right at Albuquerque.)


Other notables from the Theosophists were composer Henry Cowell, and the brothers Russell and Sigurd Varian, who invented the klystron, thereby founding the Varian electronics company.


This community is still in existence today, as is the library. The have a mystical service of some sort each day at noon. However, they have a warning for foreign visitors that they are not accepting applications to live in a utopian community.


Amanda found these books at a used book store in San Luis Obispo after they were retired from the W. Q. Judge library.