Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
BURNS & SCOTT
Scotland's best-loved and most famous literary figure is, of course, Robert Burns
(1759-96). His works have been translated into dozens of languages and are known the
world over.
In 1787 Burns was introduced to a 16-year-old boy at a social gathering in the house of
an Edinburgh professor. The boy grew up to be Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832), Scotland's
greatest and most prolific novelist. The son of an Edinburgh lawyer, Scott was born in Gu-
thrie St (off Chambers St; the house no longer exists) and lived at various New Town ad-
dresses before moving to his country house at Abbotsford. Scott's early works were rhym-
ing ballads, such as
The Lady of the Lake,
and his first historical novels - Scott effectively
invented the genre - were published anonymously. He almost single-handedly revived in-
terest in Scottish history and legend in the early 19th century, and was largely responsible
for organising King George IV's visit to Scotland in 1822 (the first visit to Scotland of a
reigning British monarch since 1650; the king had his portrait painted whilst wearing
Highland dress, kicking off an obsession with tartanry among the upper and middle
classes). Plagued by debt in later life, he wrote obsessively - to the detriment of his health
- in order to make money, but will always be best remembered for classic tales such as
Waverley, The Antiquary, The Heart of Midlothian, Ivanhoe, Redgauntlet
and
Castle Dan-
gerous
.
RLS & SHERLOCK HOLMES
Along with Scott, Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-94) ranks as Scotland's best-known
novelist. Born at 8 Howard Pl in Edinburgh into a family of famous lighthouse engineers,
Stevenson studied law at Edinburgh University but was always intent on pursuing the life
of a writer. An inveterate traveller, but dogged by ill health, he finally settled in Samoa in
1889, where he was loved by the local people and known as 'Tusitala' - the teller of tales.
Stevenson is known and loved around the world for those tales:
Kidnapped, Catriona,
Treasure Island, The Master of Ballantrae
and
The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr
Hyde
. The Writers' Museum (
Click here
)
in Edinburgh celebrates the work of Burns,
Scott and Stevenson.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930), the creator of Sherlock Holmes, was born in Ed-
inburgh and studied medicine at Edinburgh University. He based the character of Holmes
on one of his lecturers, the surgeon Dr Joseph Bell, who had employed his forensic skills
and powers of deduction on several murder cases in Edinburgh. There's a fascinating ex-
hibit on Dr Bell in Edinburgh's Surgeons' Hall Museums. Conan Doyle's four novels and
56 short stories have spawned an industry that has produced no fewer than 211 films (the
Guinness Book of World Records
lists Holmes as the 'most portrayed movie character'),
countless TV programs and a Broadway musical.
