Rob Roy
Today I finally finished a novel which I have been spasmodically reading for the best part of three weeks - Rob Roy, by Sir Walter Scott. Having somehow missed Walter Scott out of my childhood literary education, it would never have occurred to me to pick this book up at all had it not been a sort of gift, but I am very glad that I did and will hopefully get around to reading some of his other works in the future. I probably didn’t do it justice at all by reading it in such a disjointed fashion and over such a prolonged period of time, but nevertheless I enjoyed it immensely 
I have to confess, however, that the novel was nothing at all like I had expected. I didn’t admittedly know very much about it at all, but from reading the back page and the preface I was aware that Rob Roy was sort of the Scottish version of Robin Hood, and so was expecting the plot to revolve around the exploits of a daring Highland hero in a kilt. I was thus somewhat perplexed when I found myself nearing page two hundred and still not having encountered any mentions of a person called Rob Roy in the text. I even went so far at one point as to wonder whether the book had been sold so cheaply because someone had put the story inside the wrong cover 
Someone wiki’ed it for me, however, and reassured me that Rob Roy would appear at the appropriate part of the narrative. Indeed he did, and it turned out he had actually been it in somewhat earlier than we had thought, though suitably disguised to pass unnoticed.
Anyway, suspending all misconceptions which might arise from just glancing at the title, the novel tells the story of a young gentleman called Mr Francis Osbaldstone whose father is the head of a successful merchanthouse in London. In some ways Francis was a bit wet but I felt an instant empathy for him from the very first page because he was in effect trying to escape from a fate worse than death - accountancy 
His father is advancing in years and not unnaturally wishes his son to be in a position to take over his affairs when he retires. Poor Francis, however, has about as much interest in taxes and ledgers and commerce in general as I have, and would rather go to university and write poetry. His father is disgusted by such ideas and resolves to cut him out of his will. He needs another heir for his business, and so he agrees to swap Francis for one of the sons of his long lost brother, Sir Hildebrand Osbaldstone, who resides in a decaying country mansion in Northumberland. Francis is duly cast out to begin the long journey on horseback to his ancient family home.
Now Francis is, to put it politely, just a little bit posh, and when he arrives in Northumberland it isn’t quite what he is expecting. His uncle and cousins are an uncouth bunch who seem to be largely illiterate and spend the majority of their time eating, drinking, and hunting. It should be noted that the action is set in the early part of the eighteenth century, 1715 I think to be precise, when the Hanoverian king George has not been long on the throne and there were still serious threats of a Jacobite rebellion. Whilst Francis himself is a staunch Protestant, his relations appear without exception to be “Papists” with strong Jacobite sympathies. The only family member who appears to have a brain, Rashleigh, is an evil piece of work who is most definitely involved in Jacobite plots, and whilst I lost the thread of his various machinations as the story progressed, he is definitely the villain of the story. Also in the house is another distant relation, an independent young lady by the name of Diana with whom Francis very quickly falls in love.
The course of true love is obviously very crooked indeed, and the obstacles to a happy ending are numerous. For a start, Diana is subject to an ancient family contract which states that she must either marry Rashleigh or one of his brothers, else become a nun. Secondly she seems to be bound up in some of the dangerous plots of Rashleigh who appears to hold her in his power via some sort of dreadful secret.
The evil Rashleigh is sent to replace Francis in London and before long sets about ruining the good father’s business and appropriating all the funds for the furtherance of his own schemes. Learning that his father is on the verge of bankruptcy, and that this will likely cause his death, Francis receives a letter summoning him to Glasgow to assist his father’s head clerk in sorting out the mess which Rashleigh has made. There are various important papers and debts which urgently need to be recovered if disaster is to be averted. Whilst saying goodbye to Diana for what he fears is the last time, she hands Francis a note which she says he is only to open and use in cases of total desperation. It later transpires that this letter was a request for Rob Roy to intercede on his behalf.
And intercede Rob Roy does. What follows is an exciting tale of soldiers, spies and rebellions in the Highlands. Francis is witness to battles, skirmishes and some truly gruesome deaths in the remote Scottish mountains as Rob Roy attempts to not only assist him in his attempt to preserve his father’s honour, but also to fight off the British army who are trying to capture him and have him hanged. The second half of the book certainly has all of the action, as well as some beautifully atmospheric descriptions of Scotland and some points of historical interest. Just when you think everything is safe, within the last few pages of the book there are further attempts on certain characters’ lives and whether it all ends happily I couldn’t say…
After the final excitement, the ending was a little brief but nevertheless it was a book worth reading At times some of the Scottish dialect was a little difficult to follow, or at least it was for me, but I didn’t think it was as hard work as Stevenson’s Kidnapped, with which I struggled dreadfully. Would definitely recommend it, especially if you can get hold of a copy for 10p
Tags: rob roy, walter scott