Chapters Thirty-Four and Thirty-Five
Charlotte and Jane left Gilsland ahead of Walter and his friends, and they stayed with some family members of Jane’s. Her great-grandfather was William Nicholson, Bishop of Carlisle, and would have lived in Rose Castle, but the Nicholson family as portrayed in the novel is of my own creation.
There is no indication that Jane objected to Walter. That she does is my own imagination, based on the fact that the women had lived side by side for years and that a distinct change would certainly have taken place for Jane upon Charlotte’s marriage.
Early in their courtship, Walter wrote a letter to Charlotte, detailing his financial situation and asking her to consider it before they moved forward. It’s insinuated in the letter that at least part of his reason was due to feeling that Mina had chosen against him because of his financial situation. He wanted Charlotte to have a perfect understanding of his situation before they moved ahead. That letter was also the inspiration for my idea to have Walter make a formal request that they spend two weeks in each other’s company; the letter and the agreement in the novel is of my own creation.
Chapters Thirty-Six through Forty-One
We know very little of what Walter and Charlotte did with their time together in Carlisle, but by the end, they were engaged. Walter wrote to his parents separately, informing them of his choice and asking that they reserve judgment regarding how quickly his decision was made. He also informed them that if they would not accept Charlotte, the couple would go to the West Indies.
His decision was met with a great deal of concern from his family and friends, but he held his ground, and they eventually gave their blessing and by all accounts welcomed his foreign bride without incident.
Charlotte’s reprimand of Walter using too many “musts” in his letters is from a letter she wrote to him while they were apart, asking him not to be quite so dramatic.
Walter returned to Carlisle and married Charlotte in St. Mary’s Church on December 24, 1797.
Epilogue
Walter began writing The Lady of the Lake in August 1809 while on vacation with Charlotte and their oldest daughter, Sophia. His work was interrupted when his youngest three children fell seriously ill. The poem was completed on May 9, 1810, as reflected here during the time that the Scott family lived in a rented house in Ashiestiel, a town on the River Tweed.
There is no indication that Charlotte was the inspiration for Walter’s work, or that she would want to be, but this work wasn’t a reflection of Mina either.
1796: Translations & Imitations of German Ballads published
1797: Meets Charlotte in Carlisle
December 24: Walter and Charlotte marry
1798: First son born on October 14 and dies October 15.
1799: Daughter, Charlotte Sophia born
An Apology for Tales of Terror published
Goetz of Berlichingen, with the Iron Hand: A Tragedy published
1801: Son, Walter Scott born
1802–1803: Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border published
1803: Daughter, Anne born
1805: Son, Charles Scott born
The Lay of the Last Minstrel published
1808: Marmion published
1810: The Lady of the Lake published
Williamina Forbes dies
1811: The Vision of Don Roderick published
1812: Rokeby published
1814: Waverley published
The Border Antiquities of England and Scotland (coauthored by Luke Clennell and John Greig, published in two volumes between 1814 and 1817) published
1815: The Lord of the Isles published
The Field of Waterloo published
Guy Mannering published
Essays on Chivalry, Romance, and Drama, supplements to the 1815–1824 Encyclopedia Britannica published
1816: The Antiquary published
The Black Dwarf (Tales of My Landlord, First Series) published
Paul’s Letters to His Kinsfolk published
1817: Rob Roy published
1818: Walter heads a campaign to find the Scottish Crown Jewels, locating them in the crown room of Edinburgh Castle
Harold the Dauntless published
The Heart of Midlothian (Tales of My Landlord, Second Series) published
1819: The Bride of Lammermoor (Tales of My Landlord, Third Series) published
A Legend of Montrose (Tales of My Landlord, Third Series) published
Ivanhoe published
Provincial Antiquities of Scotland published (between 1819 and 1826)
1820: Knighted Sir Walter Scott Baronet for his role in recovering the Scottish Crown Jewels
The Monastery published
The Abbot published
1821: Kenilworth published
The Pirate published
Lives of the Novelists published (between 1821 and 1824)
1822: The Fortunes of Nigel published
Halide Hill published
1823: Perveril of the Peak published
Quentin Durward published
Sir Roman’s Well published
1824: Redgauntlet published
1825: The Betrothed (Tales of the Crusaders) published
The Talisman (Tales of the Crusaders) published
Letters of Malachi Malagrowther published
1826: Charlotte dies May 11 at the age of fifty-eight
Woodstock published
1827: Chronicles of the Canongate (First Series) published
The Life of Napoleon Buonaparte published
1828: The Fair Maid of Perth (Chronicles of the Canongate, Second Series) published
The Keepsake Stories published
Tales of a Grandfather (Taken from Scottish History, First Series) published
Religious Discourses published
1829: Anne of Geirerstein published
The History of Scotland: Volume 1 published
Tales of a Grandfather (Taken from Scottish History, Second Series) published
1830: Letters on Demonology and Witchcraft published
Auchindrane published
The Doom of Devorgoil published
The History of Scotland: Volume 2 published
Tales of a Grandfather (Taken from Scottish History, Third Series) published
Essays on Ballad Poetry published
1831: Count Robert of Paris (Tales of My Landlord, Fourth Series) published
Castle Dangerous (Tales of My Landlord, Fourth Series) published
Tales of a Grandfather (Taken from History of France, Fourth Series) published
1832: Sir Walter Scott dies at Abbotsford on September 21
1843: The Existence of Evil Spirits Proved published
1890: The Journal of Sir Walter Scott from 1825–1832 published
Hewitt, David. Scott on Himself. Edinburgh: Scottish Academic Press, 1981.
Pearson, Hesketh. Sir Walter Scott: His Life and Personality. New York City: Harper and Brother’s Publishers, 1954.
Scott, Adam. The Story of Sir Walter Scott’s First Love. Edinburgh: Macniven and Wallace, 1896.
“Williamina, Charlotte and Marriage.” October 24, 2003. http://www.walterscott.lib.ed.ac.uk/biography/marriage.html.
Wright, S. Fowler. The Life of Sir Walter Scott: A Biography. Rockville, Md.: Wildside Press, 1932.
1.Who was your favorite character in the story? Why?
2.Who was your least favorite character in the story? Why?
3.Was there a scene or chapter in the book that was particularly profound to y
ou?
4.Have you ever been to Scotland? If so, what were your impressions? If not, what do you imagine it would be like?
5.Before reading this book, were you familiar with Sir Walter Scott’s works? If so, which ones, and what was your impression of them?
6.In what ways do you feel that Walter’s relationship with Mina prepared him for his future relationship with Charlotte?
7.People say that time heals all wounds, but Walter never forgot Mina, and perhaps never forgave her for rejecting him. Do you feel it is possible to love again, perhaps better than you did before, but still feel deeply wounded by a failed, former relationship? Or is the inability to overcome heartbreak a sign that something is incomplete in a new relationship?
8.Are there experiences in your life when you felt sure you were on the right path only to look back later and see that God had something better in store for you?
9.In this story, Walter did not begin pursuing his writing career until after he had already established his career in law. What do you see as the pros and cons of making creative talents a career pursuit?
10.Charlotte felt the burden of her mother’s choices throughout her life. Have you experienced similar situations in which you felt the burden of someone else’s choices in regard to how others perceived and judged you?
11.Have you ever, like Charlotte, found yourself a stranger in a new country, culture, or community? What did you find to be the hardest part? What helped you the most to find your place?
12.What are your thoughts on the difference between a “first love” and a “best love”? Is there a difference?
This novel is my second Historical Proper Romance, and I once again loved the process of putting flesh on the bones of what we know from history to make a story. Thank you to Heidi Taylor and Lisa Mangum for constant inspiration and to those biographers whose works made this story possible.
This was the first project where I worked with my agent, Lane Heymont of The Seymour Agency, and I so appreciate his help. I am looking forward to working with him in the future as I take my career to a new professional level.
Thank you to my writing group for their help in honing the story: Nancy Campbell Allen (Beauty and the Clockwork Beast, Shadow Mountain 2016), Becki Clayson, Jody Durfee (Hadley, Hadley Benson, Covenant 2013), Ronda Hinrichsen (Betrayed, Covenant 2015), and Jennifer Moore (A Place for Miss Snow, Covenant 2016). Big thanks to my beta readers, Brittney Larsen (Pride and Politics, Covenant 2016) and Margot Hovely (The End Begins: A Glimmering Light, Covenant 2016). Feedback from others is vital for me to tell a good story, and I never write a story alone.
The reason I am able to do what I love is because I have an amazing cheering section. Thank you, Lee, for always believing in me and encouraging me. And thanks, too, for taking on some difficult tasks so that I could write this story. Thank you to my kids for always supporting me.
As I write this tonight, my family has gone to bed after leaving me alone for hours to finish my revision. When my fourteen-year-old daughter came in to tell me good night, she gave me a hug and a kiss and said, “I’m proud of you, Mom.” I don’t know how I got so lucky as to have the amazing family I have been blessed with, but I am so very, very grateful.
I acknowledge God’s hand in the course of my life and the path of my writing. May everything I write honor Him and His grace. May I strive, every day, to be a bit more like Him.
Josi is the author of twenty-five novels and one cookbook and a participant in several co-authored projects and anthologies. She is a four-time Whitney award winner—Sheep’s Clothing (2007), Wedding Cake (2014), and Lord Fenton’s Folly (2015) for Best Romance and Best Novel of the Year—and the Utah Best in State winner for fiction in 2012. She and her husband, Lee, are the parents of four children. You can find more information about Josi and her writing at josiskilpack.com.