19 h 50 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
On Scotland’s coast, old stones spark arguments, buried treasure tempts a baronet, and the rising tide leaves no room for pride.
Near the small port of Fairport, Jonathan Oldbuck fills Monkbarns with books, coins and old stones. He loves an argument almost as much as a discovery. When the guarded young William Lovel enters his circle, friendship grows alongside questions about the stranger’s hidden family and his love for Isabella Wardour.
Isabella’s father, Sir Arthur Wardour, prizes rank but worries about money. A swindler’s promises of treasure offer a dangerous temptation. Meanwhile, the wandering beggar Edie Ochiltree brings good sense to a world crowded with proud claims. Beneath Walter Scott’s comedy and romance runs a darker mystery: an old secret that shadows the house of Glenallan.
What you’ll discover
- A collector worth knowing Meet Oldbuck, whose sharp tongue and crowded rooms conceal a kinder heart.
- Love hemmed in Follow Lovel and Isabella as pride, money and questions of birth stand between them.
- Danger beneath the cliffs Feel the threat as a coastal walk leaves Sir Arthur and Isabella trapped by the tide.
- Wisdom on the road Spend time with Edie, a wandering beggar whose courage outshines his social betters.
- The past under scrutiny Explore how coins, ruins and manuscripts can nourish understanding or feed a cherished mistake.
Who will love it
For readers who love warm, talkative stories with humour, a touch of mystery and a rich cast of ordinary Scots. Romance, family secrets and arguments over the past bring together collectors, fishermen, beggars and scholars.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Two strangers meet on the coach
- Monkbarns is a house of old things
- Lovel loves a baronet's daughter
- A swindler promises buried treasure
- A quarrel on the sands leads to a duel
- The tide rises beneath the cliffs
- The house of Glenallan keeps a dark secret
- What the novel says about the past
- How Scott tells the story
Who’s who
- Jonathan OldbuckThe laird of Monkbarns, a sharp-tongued collector of old things, who loves a good argument and is kinder than he lets on.
- William LovelA guarded young stranger who becomes Oldbuck's friend and loves Isabella Wardour, while keeping his birth and family to himself.
- Isabella WardourSir Arthur's clear-headed daughter, who sees her father's weaknesses and must steer her own heart through the limits of rank and money.
- Sir Arthur WardourA proud baronet of Knockwinnock Castle, anxious about money and rank, who longs for a quick fortune and trusts the wrong adviser.
- Edie OchiltreeAn old wandering beggar in the blue gown, who knows every road and story, and shows more sense and courage than his betters.
- Herman DousterswivelA German adventurer who claims to find treasure and mines by magic, and lives well on the fears of Sir Arthur.
- Hector McIntyreOldbuck's fiery nephew, an army officer who is quick to take offence and ready to defend his honour with a sword or pistol.
- Elspeth MucklebackitThe aged mother in a fisherman's family on the shore, who carries a long memory that she has kept to herself.
Formats and delivery
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- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 19 h 50 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 14 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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Read and hear El anticuario in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
El anticuario
by Walter Scott · 1816
On Scotland's east coast, Lovel keeps his birth secret as pride and money stand between him and Isabella Wardour.
Challenging10–20 hours to read25 languages
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In short
The Antiquary is a novel by Walter Scott, published in 1816. It is set in Scotland in the 1790s, on the east coast near the small port of Fairport, in a time when many people feared a French invasion.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Two strangers meet on the coach
The story opens on a public coach travelling north toward Fairport. A young man who calls himself William Lovel shares the coach with an older traveller, a sharp-tongued, learned man in plain clothes. The older man is Jonathan Oldbuck, laird of Monkbarns, and he is returning home from a trip to Edinburgh.
Oldbuck wins the young man's attention by talking about old coins, old castles and old books. He does not waste a minute. He lectures, teases and questions all at once, and he expects to be answered in kind. Lovel is polite, quiet and somewhat guarded, and he says little about who he is or where his family comes from.
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What is The Antiquary by Walter Scott about?
It is a comic and serious novel set in 1790s Scotland. It follows a learned collector named Oldbuck, a mysterious young man in love with a baronet's daughter, a swindler, and the secrets of a grieving noble house.
Who is Edie Ochiltree in The Antiquary?
Edie is an old wandering beggar who wears the blue gown of a licensed pauper. He knows the countryside and its stories, speaks plainly, and proves braver and wiser than many of the gentlefolk around him.
Is The Antiquary based on a true story?
The plot is invented, but the setting is real. It was published in 1816 and is set in the 1790s, when Britain feared a French invasion. Scott drew Oldbuck partly from antiquarian friends he knew.
The author
Walter Scott
1771–1832 · Scottish novelist and poet
Walter Scott (1771–1832) was a Scottish novelist, poet and playwright. He was born in Edinburgh and lived in Scotland, including at Abbotsford near Melrose, where he died. He wrote Marmion (1808), The Lady of the Lake (1810), Waverley (1814), Rob Roy (1817) and Ivanhoe (1819).
More by Walter Scott
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