The Heart of Mid-Lothian 

Read by W. Fraser Elgin C.A.

This is the first Waverley Novel I read, at the age of 14, while at George Watson's College, Edinburgh. The passage that I quote made a great impression on me then and to this day is my favourite. The lead-up to the excerpt is as follows: Effie Deans, the sister of the heroine, Jeanie, has been condemned to death for child murder in 1736. Jeanie refuses to commit perjury, which might have saved her sister's life. Instead she walks from Edinburgh to London to seek pardon in person from Queen Caroline, wife of George II.

October 2009

W. Fraser Elgin C.A. (1916–2017) was an Edinburgh-based chartered accountant, long-serving council member and officer of the Edinburgh Sir Walter Scott Club. He was honorary treasurer, secretary and president, and widely respected for his dedication to promoting the study and appreciation of Sir Walter Scott’s life and work.

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