Many young people know that Scott was a famous writer of poetry and historical novels. Some of them may have heard that, in real life, he was as incorruptible as his finest heroes and that, in his later years, he worked himself to exhaustion in order to pay off a business debt for which he could not have been held liable except by his own code of honor. They may not realize, however, that throughout his youth, Scott had to deal with his lameness, which brought him no sympathy in the rough, pitiless society of Edinburgh schoolboys and which could have put him permanently in the ranks of the outsiders. His personal triumph should be a source of inspiration for young adult readers.
While there are no real villains in Young Walter Scott, it is obvious that Vining’s strongest sympathies lie with her subject. In the first chapter, she shows him as a stranger in his own family. When even his own brothers treat him with contempt, Scott has to make his first difficult decision—to ignore his bad leg and go forth to battle along with them. The author clearly admires his refusal to give in to his physical limitations, but she also admires the strength of purpose shown when he and his friend John Irving evade their quarrelsome peers in order to read and tell stories.
Both of Scott’s parents are treated sympathetically. It is his mother, Anne Rutherford Scott, who wisely encourages Walter with a reminder about another lame Scott. She is also sympathetic to his interest in the past, even tolerating his private collection...
(The entire section is 631 words.)