19 h 50 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 19 h 50 minPaperback · 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
You will enjoy this if you like warm comedy, eccentric characters and old Scottish landscapes, with a sea rescue, a haunted bedroom and buried silver along the way.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Shared curiosity makes strangers into friends
- A cherished theory meets living memory
- Danger reveals courage beyond social rank
- Pride makes secrecy turn dangerous
- Greed gives a fraud his opening
- Old guilt reaches across social divisions
- Knowledge matters when joined to kindness
- Comedy and grief share the story
- Character matters more than outward standing
Who’s who
- Jonathan OldbuckThe Laird of Monkbarns, a stingy, learned bachelor who loves old things and arguments and helps his friends more than he admits.
- LovelA silent young stranger living in Fairport who has a secret reason for being there and loves Isabella Wardour.
- Edie OchiltreeA sharp-tongued old beggar and King's Bedesman who wanders the district, knows everyone's business and wants only to be independent.
- Sir Arthur WardourThe proud baronet of Knockwinnock Castle, vain of his ancestors and deep in debt, hoping a German adept will make him rich.
- Isabella WardourSir Arthur's clever and steady daughter, who keeps the peace between her father and Oldbuck and wants to protect her family.
- Hector M'IntyreOldbuck's hot-tempered Highland nephew, a brave young officer proud of his pedigree, who hopes to win Isabella.
- Herman DousterswivelA German trickster who claims to find hidden treasure and mines by magic, and who is greedy to profit from Sir Arthur.
- Lord GlenallanA gloomy, grief-worn earl who lives like a hermit and seeks the truth about a wrong done to him long ago.
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The Antiquary — Complete
by Walter Scott · 1816
An old collector, a silent stranger and a tide that rises faster than anyone expects on the Scottish coast.
Challenging10–20 hours to read2 languages
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In short
A coach comes late. Two strangers wait in the heat of an Edinburgh street.
The Antiquary — Complete at a glance
- Reading time
- About 11 h8 h 45 min fast, 13 h 5 min slow
- Length
- 157,100 words
- Library level
- Challenging long sentences, a rich vocabulary
- First published
- 1816by Walter Scott
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A late coach brings two strangers together
A young man of good manners waits at the Queensferry coach stand while noon passes. The only other passenger arrives in a rush, an old man in a powdered wig with a big book in a parcel. He scolds the ticket seller for a handbill that lies like a military bulletin.
On the road he calms down and opens the book, an account of the Roman remains in Scotland. He explains camps, altars and urns with delight. The young man knows his classics and asks good questions, and that wins the old man's heart. When a horse loses a shoe, he stops the coach, partly from kindness and partly because a Pictish camp lies beside the road.
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- 15-minute summary
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Details
- First published
- 1816
- Language
- English
- Level
- Challenging
Cite this edition
Scott, Walter. The Antiquary — Complete. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-antiquary-complete.
Scott, W. (2026). The antiquary — Complete. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-antiquary-complete (Original work published 1816)
Scott, Walter. The Antiquary — Complete. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-antiquary-complete.
@book{scott2026antiquary,
author = {Scott, Walter},
title = {The Antiquary — Complete},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-antiquary-complete},
note = {First published 1816}
}
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What is The Antiquary about?
It follows Jonathan Oldbuck, a collector of old things, and a mysterious young man named Lovel on the Scottish coast. A rescue from the tide, a treasure hunt and a family secret link their lives with a baronet and a beggar.
Who is Edie Ochiltree?
Edie is an old wandering beggar and King's Bedesman, one of the privileged poor who could beg anywhere in Scotland. He is witty, brave and well informed, and he plays a larger part in the plot than anyone expects.
When was The Antiquary written and is it a true story?
Scott published it in 1816, setting it in the 1790s. The people and plot are invented, but some scenes rest on real incidents, such as a false invasion alarm, and Edie was inspired by a real beggar.
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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