Redgauntlet: Vol. I

Said to be the most autobiographical novel of Scott's career, Redgauntlet has remained one of the most popular novels of his Waverley series. The novel tells the story of Darsie Latimer, who is kidnapped by High Redgauntlet and taken to the village of Dumfries in Scotland. Darsie's friend Alan sets out to rescue him, but while he is waiting, Darsie discovers Redgauntlet is actually his uncle and is subsequently reunited with his long-lost sister. Learning that prominent Jacobites, including Prince Charles Edward Stuart, are in the village and planning an uprising, Redgauntlet readies himself and Darsie to join the conspirators. The villagers learn that Clementina Walkinshaw, the Prince's mistress, is a spy and are trapped by the King's General Campbell. Redgauntlet and Prince Charles are forced into exile, Darsie is set free and Alan, who finally arrives to rescue his friend, marries Darsie's estranged sister. Although the story is fictional, Scott wrote in the introductory note that the plot was inspired by an actual event he experienced, when Bonnie Prince Charlie (the young Charles Edward Stuart) visited London in 1750.