Count Robert of Paris 

Read by Dr. J.H. Alexander

I have long been fascinated by the haunting quality of Scott's final narratives. The passage I've chosen reworks in masterly fashion a pre-existing document: in this case a strikingly eerie section from the 6th-century historian Procopius. As a bonus Scott's undiminished ability to sketch character deftly and economically is evident in the lead-in and lead-out.

In this short extract from Count Robert of Paris, the Emperor Alexius is seeking information from his courtiers about the Western Crusaders who are passing through his territories.

December 2009

Dr J. H. Alexander (often cited as Ian Alexander) was a Scottish literary scholar and leading textual editor of Sir Walter Scott’s works. He contributed extensively to the Edinburgh Edition of the Waverley Novels, editing several volumes and publishing on Scott’s texts and reception.

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