Waverley

The Williams family whom Edward stays with becomes attached to him despite his lies about who he is. While he is staying with them, Edward learns that his father has died in London after being accused of high treason. He also learns that Sir Everard has also been accused of high treason and will go to trial if Edward does not turn himself in. Edward determines to hasten his trip to London and leaves his friends.

When Edward gets to London, he immediately visits Talbot, who pretends Edward is his nephew. Talbot tells him his uncle is out of legal danger and says Edward’s desertion charges have been cleared as Donald Bean Lean has been captured and killed. Edward discovers he is nevertheless under suspicion in England and wants to go back to Scotland to be with Rose.

When Edward reaches Scotland, he hears the news of the Battle of Culloden, where the Jacobites were defeated. All Jacobite soldiers were either captured or killed. He runs into Fergus’s old landlady, who informs him that Fergus was not killed but captured and is to be tried for treason. He decides to go to Tully-Veolan, and as he walks northward he sees the effects of war. At the Baron’s mansion, a group of soldiers is camped out. He finds Davie Gellatley in the ruins of the mansion, and he shows Edward the hut in the woods in which the Baron is hiding.

Bradwardine tells Edward that he had been at Culloden and how his estate has been entailed away and is currently being sold by a cousin of his. Bradwardine says Rose is safe with another family member, but he fears he will never see his daughter again. He says he plans to go to France and asks Edward to come with him, but Edward is sure Talbot can get him out of trouble in England.

Edward speaks with a woman named Old Janet who had been helping to conceal Bradwardine and who had housed him after his earlier escape from Gilfillan. He learns that Rose had helped ensure this escape, though Janet had kept it a secret. After hearing of what happened to Edward after leaving the Highlands, Rose made arrangements with Donald Bean Lean, Alice, and the prince to enact a complicated plan to get Edward out of the hands of Melville and to Holyrood Palace. During this time, the prince also tried to arrange it so that Rose could inherit her father’s property, as he believed Rose and Edward were to marry. Edward realizes that he owes Rose his life.

Edward goes to visit the Baron’s right-hand man, Ballie Macwheeble, who is excited to hear that he wants to marry Rose and make her rich. Edward receives a letter from Talbot saying he has received a temporary pardon from the king for both him and Bradwardine to travel to London.

Edward tells Bradwardine the good news. He is excited he will get to see Rose again, and Edward mentions that he wants to marry her. The next day they meet with Rose and the following day the Baron announces Rose and Edward’s engagement. Edward will return to Waverley-Honour and see if he can get a pardon for Fergus—something Talbot absolutely refuses to help with—on the way.

Edward reaches Carlisle, where Fergus has been imprisoned along with Evan Dhu Maccombich, just as both men are pronounced guilty of treason and sentenced to death. While Fergus is fine with this decision, Evan offers his life and those of five more from Glennaquoich to save Fergus. The judge denies this, pitying Evan for treating his clan chief like he should treat his king. Edward learns where Flora is staying and visits her, finding her still courageous despite the circumstances. Even so, she feels guilty for her brother’s death because she had not stopped him from going to battle. He asks Flora on Rose’s behalf that she come and stay with them once they are married, but Flora intends to enter a convent in France and never see either of her friends again.

Edward is granted leave to visit Fergus on the morning of his execution, and Fergus is cheerful to see him and hear of his engagement despite his circumstances. Edward tells Fergus that the prince has escaped and that many of his clan escaped before the Battle of Culloden. Fergus insists that Edward not watch his gruesome execution as he and Evan are taken from the prison.

Edward leaves Carlisle and reaches Waverley-Honour, and Sir Everard and Rachel are excited to see him and prepare for his marriage to Rose. Within a few months, Edward’s name is cleared and he is married to Rose.

It is revealed that Talbot has bought the Bradwardine mansion and restored it, and the wedding party visits the mansion and meets with Davie and Old Janet. Afterward, Talbot mentions that he bought the old Baron’s estate so he could sell it back to him and Rose through Edward, and announces that Bradwardine is now restored to everything he had lost before the uprising. Talbot has bought him and his wife a property near Waverley-Honour.

The narrator says that there “is no European nation which, within the course of half a century or little more, has undergone so complete a change as this kingdom of Scotland” (634). He describes how the Highland culture was decimated after the Battle of Culloden, and how the contemporary Scots would be nearly unrecognizable to their ancestors. He mentions that, though a Lowlander himself, he has drawn on the history and the personal accounts of the Highlanders to make his narrative as authentic and nuanced as possible. He ends the misplaced preface with a dedication to Henry Mackenzie, a writer known for his authentic portrayal of Scottish characters.