Невеста Ламмермура

1819 novel by Walter Scott

The Bride of Lammermoor is a historical novel by Sir Walter Scott, published in 1819, one of the Waverley novels. The novel is set in the Lammermuir Hills of south east Scotland, shortly before the Act of Union of 1707 (in the first edition), or shortly after the Act (in the 'Magnum' edition of 1830). It tells of a tragic love affair between young Lucy Ashton and her family's enemy Edgar Ravenswood. Scott indicated the plot was based on an actual incident. The Bride of Lammermoor and A Legend of Montrose were published together anonymously as the third of Scott's Tales of My Landlord series. The story is the basis for Donizetti's 1835 opera Lucia di Lammermoor.

It is not known exactly when Scott contracted to write Tales of my Landlord (Third Series), but he began composition at the beginning of September 1818, some two months after completing The Heart of Midlothian and finished it in late April or early May the following year. During March he had to suspend work after a near fatal attack of gallstones, but about a week into April he set about dictating the final chapters (from a little into Chapter 26 to the end), apparently to John Ballantyne and William Laidlaw. Scott was acquainted with the central story of the novel from oral and printed sources, drawing on the various versions and modifying them for his fictional purposes (see 'The Ashton story' below). The presence of the Gowrie Conspiracy, familiar to him from his editorial labours in the 17th century, can be felt at a number of points in the work. For the hunting descriptions he was able to call on a work in his library, the second edition of George Turbervile's anonymous The Noble Art of Venerie or Hunting (1611).

The first edition of Tales of my Landlord (Third Series), consisting of The Bride of Lammermoor and A Legend of Montrose was published by Archibald Constable in Edinburgh on 21 June 1819 and in London by Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown on the 26th. As with all the Waverley novels before 1827 publication was anonymous. The print run was probably 10,000 and the price was £1 12s (£1.60). Scott appears to have made some small changes to the text of the Bride when it appeared later in 1819 in the octavo Novels and Tales, but his main revision was carried out in late 1829 and early 1830 for the 'Magnum' edition, including the provision of notes and an introduction: it appeared as part of Volume 13 and the whole of Volume 14 in June and July 1830. For the 'Magnum' Scott moved the action from just before the Act of Union of 1707 to the period immediately following it. The standard modern edition, by J. H. Alexander, was published as Volume 7a of the Edinburgh Edition of the Waverley Novels in 1993: this is based on the first edition with emendations principally from Scott's manuscript; the new Magnum material is included in Volume 25a.

The story recounts the tragic love of Lucy Ashton and Edgar, Master of Ravenswood. Edgar's father was stripped of his title for supporting the deposed King James VII. Lucy's ambitious father, Sir William Ashton, then bought the Ravenswood estate. Edgar hates Sir William for this usurpation of his family's heritage, but on meeting Lucy, falls in love with her, and renounces his plans for vengeance. Sir William's haughty and manipulative wife, Lady Ashton, is the villainess of the story. She is determined to end the initial happy engagement of Edgar and Lucy, and force Lucy into a politically advantageous arranged marriage. Lady Ashton intercepts Edgar's letters to Lucy and persuades Lucy that Edgar has forgotten her. Edgar leaves Scotland for France, to continue his political activities. While he is away, Lady Ashton continues her campaign. She gets Captain Westenho, a wandering soldier of fortune, to tell everyone that Edgar is about to get married in France. She even recruits "wise woman" Ailsie Gourlay (a witch in all but name) to show Lucy omens and tokens of Edgar's unfaithfulness. Lucy still clings to her troth, asking for word from Edgar that he has broken off with her; she writes to him. Lady Ashton suppresses Lucy's letter, and brings the Reverend Bide the bent to apply religious persuasion to Lucy. However, Bide the bent instead helps Lucy send a new letter, but there is no answer. Lady Ashton finally bullies Lucy into marrying Francis, Laird of Bucklaw. But on the day before the wedding, Edgar returns. Seeing that Lucy has signed the betrothal papers with Bucklaw, he repudiates Lucy, who can barely speak. The wedding takes place the next day, followed by a celebration at Ravenswood. While the guests are dancing, Lucy stabs Bucklaw in the bridal chamber, severely wounding him. She descends quickly into insanity and dies. Bucklaw recovers, but refuses to say what had happened. Edgar reappears at Lucy's funeral. Lucy's older brother, blaming him for her death, insists that they meet in a duel. Edgar, in despair, reluctantly agrees. But on the way to the meeting, Edgar falls into quicksand and dies.

Among contemporary reviewers only the writer in The Scotsman found The Bride of Lammermoor uniformly excellent. There was a general tendency to lament Walter Scott's familiar stylistic carelessness and weak plotting, and some reviewers saw a distinct decline from the preceding novels, with signs of exhaustion and less interesting subject matter. Repetition of characters was mentioned more than once, though sometimes with a recognition that there were discriminations to be discerned, and in general the characterisation and the dialogue of the lower orders was appreciated. The tragic power of the final scenes was widely appreciated, but the admixture of ludicrous humour was a defect for some, as was the overall gloomy and painful atmosphere. The portrayal of Caleb was widely praised, but there were complaints that he was unvarying and that he perhaps outstayed his welcome. Views differed on the superstitious element, variously judged effectively employed, or foolish and unfortunately pervasive. The introductory chapter centring on Dick Tinto pleased reviewers more than the Cleishbotham openings of earlier novels.

The story is fictional, but according to Scott's introduction to the novel for the 'Magnum' edition it was based on an actual incident in the history of the Dalrymple and Rutherford families. Scott heard this story from his mother, Anne Rutherford, and his great aunt Margaret Swinton. in the church of Old Luce, Wigtownshire, two miles south of Carsecleugh Castle, one of her father's estates. Her younger brother later recollected that Janet's hand was "cold and damp as marble", Dunbar recovered from his wounds, but similarly refused to explain the event. He remarried in 1674, to Lady Eleanor Montgomerie, daughter of the Earl of Eglinton, but died on 28 March 1682 after falling from a horse between Leith and Edinburgh. More scurrilous verses relating to the story are also quoted by Scott, including those by Lord Stair's political enemy Sir William Hamilton of Whitelaw.

The spelling Lammermoor is an Anglicisation of the Scots Lammermuir. The Lammermuir Hills are a range of moors which divide East Lothian to the north from Berwickshire in the Scottish Borders to the south. The fictional castle "Wolf's Crag" has been identified with Fast Castle on the Berwickshire coast. Scott stated that he was "not competent to judge of the resemblance having never seen Fast Castle except from the sea." He did approve of the comparison, writing that the situation of Fast Castle "seems certainly to resemble that of Wolf's Crag as much as any other".

Like most Anglo Saxon names, the name "Edgar" had fallen out of use by the later medieval period. The success of The Bride of Lammermoor had a considerable role in this name being revived and becoming widely used, up to the present.