Sir Walter Scott, Queen Victoria, the Railways, and Scottish Romanticism

Abstract

This work examines the role Sir Walter Scott, Queen Victoria, and the railways played in the rise and popularization of a romantic, mythic Scotland. Scott's works captured the imagination and were used as guidebooks when traveling in the northern kingdom. Victoria grew up reading Scott's works, and his romantic ideals of a mythic Scotland shaped her views of Scotland. The royal family visited Scotland three times before they leased the Balmoral estate. With the acquisition of this estate, the royal family had a Highland home. Railways facilitated the monarch's travel to Scotland and allowed others a relatively cheap method of visiting the romantic wilds of the country.