Rob Roy (novel)

Rob Roy

Title page of 1st edition
Author	Walter Scott
Country	Scotland and England simultaneously
Language	English, Lowland Scots, anglicised Scottish Gaelic
Series	Waverley Novels
Genre	Historical novel
Publisher	Archibald Constable, Edinburgh Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme and Brown, London
Publication date	30 December 1817[1]
Media type	Print
Pages	343 (Edinburgh Edition, 2008)
Preceded by	The Black Dwarf and Old Mortality
Followed by	The Heart of Midlothian

Rob Roy (1817) is a historical novel by Walter Scott, one of the Waverley novels. It is probably set in 1715, the year of the second Jacobite rising, and the social and economic background to that event are an important element in the novel, though it is not treated directly.^[2] The depiction of Rob Roy bears little relation to the historical figure: "there are two Rob Roys. One lived and breathed. The other is a good story, a lively tale set in the past. Both may be accepted as ‘valid', but they serve different needs and interests."^[3]

Frank Osbaldistone narrates the story. He is the son of an English merchant who parted from his family home in the north of England near the border with Scotland when he was a young man, being of different religion and temperament than his own father or his younger brother. Frank is sent by his father to live at the long unseen family home with his uncle and his male cousins, when he refuses to join his father's successful business. In exchange, his father accepts Frank's cousin Rashleigh to work in his business. Rashleigh is an intelligent young man, but he is unscrupulous, and he causes problems for the business of Osbaldistone and Tresham. To resolve the problems, Frank travels into Scotland and meets the larger-than-life title character, Rob Roy MacGregor.