Peveril of the Peak 

Read by Lee A. Simpson

In this passage Bridgenorth uses language that reflects his own time and which we would now find inappropriate today.

Back in 1995 I felt like I was living in a vacuous world... and was in need of something of substance to cling on to. A peculiar incident put a copy of Peveril of the Peak into my hands...  I took it as a sign... It was hard work, and many times I had to re-read a passage just to get the gist of it. But, I was determined and pushed on. Once I got past chapter 7 (as with most Scott books -- except Kenilworth) I really started to engage with the characters and loved the style of dialogue.

Now, almost 30 years later I must have read the book at least a dozen times..   I like how each time I return to it I find new things to relate to. It never fails to satisfy.

I have chosen this passage because it is a rather neat self-contain story within the book. I feel that Bridgenorth (the Puritan) was telling it as part of an attempt to politically subvert Julian Peveril (the Cavalier's son). Julian had unwitting given Bridgenorth a sympathetic ear as he is secretly in love with his daughter -- but, little does he realise how much of a fanatic he really is, as the hero of this passage is actually wanted for Regicide!

This recording was done in one-take and from memory.

March 2024.

Image used here with the permission of the [Walter Scott Digital Archive Image Collection].

Text used with permission of Edinburgh University Press. [The Edinburgh Edition of the Waverley Novels] 

Alternative Recording...