waverly novels

"On a day when she was particularly blue and unhappy, the neighbor to the west, a bachelor living alone, stopped as he was driving by and brought a partly filled grain sack to the house. When Laura opened the door, Mr. Sheldon stepped inside, and taking the sack by the bottom, poured the contents out on the floor. It was a paper-backed set of Waverly novels." --The First Four Years

Quick. Who wrote the Waverly novels? When? Can you name some of them? Can you name all of them?

Laura Ingalls Wilder mentions Sir Walter Scott in the next paragraph (he wrote 'em), and she mentions that the Waverly novels were "tales of brave knights and ladies fair beside lakes and waters of Scotland." Except some of them take place in England, and there's even one that takes place in India.

All I wanted to do yesterday was compile a list of Waverly novels. No problem, right? Except here it is the next night and I'm still not sure if I have a complete list or not. The internet has been no real help. The public library has been no help. Are there 25 or 29 Waverly novels? More? Less? Beats me.

I almost bought a set of Waverly novels once - an 1860s set bound in leather. Now I wish I had. There are sets and Sets and SETS for sale online, but not one seller lists the titles. And a "set" can be anywhere from 12 volumes to over 40. And expect to pay a few hundred to several thousand dollars or more, depending on the publishing date and other bookish things.

Sir Walter Scott, who was a lawyer and wrote poetry, wrote his first novels using pseudonyms: Jebediah Cleisbotham, Crystal Croftangry, and Malachi Malagrowther are a few. His first novel was titled Waverly, so the others were by "the author of Waverly," hence, the Waverly novels.

While I was at the library, I checked out Ivanhoe, and I'll be starting it tonight.
- posted by pioneergirl at 11:22 PM