“Hospitality to the Exile and Broken Bones to the Tyrant”

novel by Sir Walter Scott which unfolds the story of a young English soldier, Edward
Waverley, and his journey to Scotland. Regarded as the fi rst historical novel, it contains
elements of modernity, heralding a new upcoming era in England. Scott obviously
displays the concept of the modern/modernity diff erently from the perception that
writers are conveying today, but he hints at the emergence of a society detached from
feudal customs in several aspects through the issue of union between England and
Scotland. Highlighting the modern characteristics of Walter Scott’s Waverley, this
paper argues that Scott employs elements of modernity in his novel long before their
disclosure in literature and politics.