Riassunto
Trama e riassunto di La sposa di Lammermoor
A chi è rivolto
For readers who love Gothic atmosphere, Scottish history and tragic love stories, or who know Donizetti's opera and want to discover its source.
Che cos’è questo libro
The Bride of Lammermoor is a historical novel by Walter Scott, published in 1819. It belongs to his series called Tales of My Landlord. Scott was already the most widely read novelist in Britain, known for stories that bring Scotland's past to life. Here he turns to something darker. This is a tragedy of two families, an old ruined house and a new rich one, and of a young man and woman caught between them.
The story is set in Scotland around the start of the eighteenth century, in the hills and coastal country of the Lammermuir range. Scott built it from a local tale of a real family quarrel and a doomed marriage. He fills it with old rhymes, grim omens, faithful retainers and the pressures of law, religion and politics. You will meet a proud young lord who has lost his lands, a gentle young woman who wants peace, and the forceful people who plan her life. Let us begin with the world they live in and the old house at the heart of it.
In questo riassunto
- 1A Scotland of old houses and new moneyFree
- 2The Ravenswoods lose their lands
- 3A rescue brings enemies together
- 4Love grows against the will of others
- 5Pride, revenge and fate
- 6How Scott tells it
Punto chiave 1 di 6
A Scotland of old houses and new money
The novel is set in a Scotland that is changing. Old noble families who once held land by ancient right now find that lawyers, rank and money can matter more than a famous name. Scott sets this change in the Lammermuir hills, a wild stretch of country near the sea in the south east, where tall ruined towers stand over empty moor.
The tale is presented through a frame that Scott used in the whole series. The narrator, Peter Pattieson, shapes the tale from notes given to him by his friend Dick Tinto. This gives the book the feel of a local tale passed down by the fireside, written down so that it will not be lost. Scott likes to stand a little back from events and let you feel the weight of memory.
The book also leans on a real story. Scott knew a tradition of a Scottish family in which a daughter was pressed into a marriage she feared, and the match ended in horror. He did not copy it. He changed names and places, built characters around it, and gave the quarrel a political and religious background. Still, the old story sits under the novel like a stone under turf, and a reader senses early that gentle hopes will meet hard resistance.
The setting matters because it explains the stakes. In this world a marriage is never only about two people. It joins houses, lands and loyalties, and it can heal a feud or deepen one. When you read, notice how often the characters talk about family, property, honour and the law. Those words are the real weather of the book.
The central place in the story is a lonely coastal tower, Wolf's Crag, the last stronghold of the Ravenswood family. Remember it. The fall of that house is where the plot begins.
That’s 1 of 6 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
- Nothing to pay today · Renews every year
- We email you before you pay
- Cancel online in two clicks
Who’s who
- Edgar, Master of Ravenswood
- The proud heir of an impoverished noble family, Edgar loves Lucy despite his grievance against her father.
- Lucy Ashton
- Sir William and Lady Ashton's gentle daughter, Lucy loves Edgar but lives under her family's powerful influence.
- Sir William Ashton
- Lucy's cautious father is a powerful lawyer who holds the Ravenswood lands and fears their former owners.
- Lady Ashton
- Lucy's strong-willed mother prizes her family's rank and has firm plans for her daughter's future.
- Caleb Balderstone
- Edgar's loyal servant tries to preserve the Ravenswood family's dignity by concealing its poverty with inventive tales.
About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 129,000 words
- Reading timeAbout 8 h 35 min
- FormatseBook, large-print eBook, audiobook, 15-minute summary
- LanguagesEnglish and 12 other languages
Questions about La sposa di Lammermoor
What is The Bride of Lammermoor about?
It is a tragic love story set in Scotland around 1700. Edgar, heir to a ruined noble family, falls in love with Lucy Ashton, daughter of the man who holds his family's lands, and their families oppose them.
Is The Bride of Lammermoor based on a true story?
Scott drew on a Scottish local tradition about a family quarrel and a daughter's unhappy marriage. He changed names, places and many details, so the novel is fiction built on an old tale.
When was The Bride of Lammermoor written?
It was published in 1819, as part of the series Tales of My Landlord. Scott was by then a very successful writer, and this book is among his darkest and most tragic.
Is The Bride of Lammermoor hard to read?
The story itself is clear, and the strong atmosphere helps carry a reader through.
What is the connection between the novel and the opera Lucia di Lammermoor?
Donizetti's opera, first staged in 1835, is based on Scott's novel. It changes names and many events, so the novel and opera tell related but different versions of the tragedy.