Lockhart’s Life of Scott: A Physical Journey

John Gibson Lockhart at an early stage was commissioned with the task of writing the official biography of Walter Scott, with the dual purpose of establishing his reputation and helping clear debts after his death in 1832. The first edition of Lockhart’s Memoirs of the Life of Sir Walter Scott was published in seven volumes between 1837 and 1838, heavily influenced by its publisher Robert Cadell. A second edition in 1839 expanded the work to ten volumes, including corrections and new content. In 1842, a one-volume edition was issued, physically compressing the text in dual columns while updating references and footnotes. An abridged two-volume edition then appeared in 1848, again motivated by financial needs relating to Abbotsford. The abridged form finally entered the Everyman’s Library in the early 20th century and was last reprinted in 1969. Throughout the original editions, Robert Cadell’s commercial priorities can be seen to have significantly influenced the physical form, content emphasis, and timing of Lockhart’s Life of Scott, leading to the question as to whether any fully stable version might be said to exist, while raising the issue of how the work might be best revived for a present-day audience.