I would classify Young Walter Scott as a historical fictional biography. Hang on a second . . . I just looked it up and there's a genre called biographical fiction. And here I thought Elizabeth Janet Gray was taking liberties by making up a childhood for Walter Scott when it's actually an entire genre and authors do it all the time! There's apparently an art to making up stories about actual people's lives!
I've never read any of Walter Scott's books. This made-up story about his childhood may have been more interesting if I had. He was lame (that part is true) and the author uses that to frame basically everything that happens to him ever. And he was Scottish (also true), which made the book fairly difficult to understand because the author had everyone speak in Scottish accents. For example, here's a snippet that I just literally didn't understand.
Wattie turned. "I'm no that lame. I'm off to climb Arthur's Seat."
"Havers," she said admiringly.
"By the Gutted Haddie," he added.
"Havers."
Wha?
I wouldn't recommend Young Walter Scott, unless of course you're a super fan of Ivanhoe or Rob Roy and want a glimpse into what one woman thinks Scott's childhood may have been like.
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