The Heart of Mid-Lothian

This novel, regarded as one of Scott’s finest, opens with the Edinburgh riots of 1736. The people have been infuriated by the actions of John Porteous, Captain of the Guard; when his life is saved by the distant monarch they ignore the Queen and resolve to take their own revenge. Closely connected with these events is the story of the novel’s heroine, Jeanie Deans, a peasant girl of remarkable rel...