The Monastery - Walter Scott (week 2)

Set on the eve of the Protestant Reformation in Scotland, The Monastery (1820) is full of supernatural events, theological conflict and humour. Located in the lawless Scottish Borders, the novel depicts the monastery of Kennaquhair (a thinly disguised Melrose Abbey, whose ruins are still to be seen near Scott's own home at Abbotsford) on the verge of dissolution, and the fortunes of two brothers as they respond to a new social and religious order.

Highlights of the narrative include a moving encounter between two representatives of opposing sides in the Reformation controversy who had been students together in less troubled times, and the final formal procession of the Kennaquhair monks as the Reformed forces arrive.

A talking-point when the work was first published, the mysterious spectral White Lady, guardian of the magical Black Book, still intrigues readers. A strong comic element is provided by the absurd Sir Piercie Shafton (who can't stop talking about his clothes). The narrative is preceded by one of Scott's most charming and playful introductory exchanges between the fictional local antiquary Cuthbert Clutterbuck and the Author of Waverley.

Schedule:

• Week 1 (March 2): Chapters 1-14
• Week 2 (March 16): Chapters 15-37

The Monastery:

• Kindle
• Gutenberg
• Google books
• Librivox 17h41m

Extracts:

• "Such, then, was my jacket: a well-patched, padded, and porous one; and in a dark night, gleaming white as the White Lady of Avenel!" (White-Jacket, 1)
• "Jack had read all the verses of Byron, and all the romances of Scott. He talked of Rob Roy, Don Juan, and Pelham; Macbeth and Ulysses; but, above all things, was an ardent admirer of Camoens." (White-Jacket, 4)

This meetup is part of a series on Fig Leaves and Fancy Pants.