The first historical novel and an international bestseller Sir Walter Scott was one of the bestselling novelists of the nineteenth century and is credited with establishing the historical novel. His first novel, Waverley (1814), tells the story of Edward Waverley, a naïve young man who is posted to Scotland with his regiment. Edward must decide whether he will follow the civilization he has always known, or be drawn into an older world of honor. This superbly authentic novel about a young Englishman?s experiences in the famed Scottish rebellion of 1745 took the early 19th century reading public by storm. Nothing like it had ever been written. The combination of romantic adventure with genuine backgrounds and real people was a far cry from the Gothic horrors that were being offered as historical novels. Sir Walter Scott had already achieved fame as a poet, but Waverley was his first venture as a novelist. He was, in fact, so fearful of failure that he had the book published anonymously. No one was more astonished at the novel?s runaway success than Scott himself. The question of Waverley?s authorship became one of the most hotly disputed topics of the day. Although Waverley?s artistic significance lies in the fact that it established the novel as the literary genre of the 19th and 20th Centuries, it is still beloved as a work of popular fiction and remains an enduring delight for readers of every generation.