To know Sir Walter Scott as a man is as delightful and fruitful an experience as to appreciate the greatness of his books. In the bicentenary year of the publication of Sir Walter Scott's first novel Waverley, this is a timely republication of John Buchan's biography of Scott - one great storyteller exploring the life of another. Buchan's sympathetic treatment of Scott is perceptive, and his enthusiasm for Scott's work is infectious. Interspersed with superb extracts exhibiting Scott's storytelling skills, John Buchan's short introduction to Scott has never been bettered. To this day, he remains the ideal advocate and guide to the great Sir Walter Scott. John Buchan is the very person to get us reading Scott again, abandoning the superficial media distractions for a grand rumbling rollercoaster of a read - ideal for a stage coach journey, an airport wait, or a holiday lived out of time. FROM THE INTRODUCTION BY DONALD SMITH The almost inspired literary criticism of Sir Walter Scott shows Buchan at his best. DICTIONARY OF NATIONAL BIOGRAPHY