ABSTRACT
Guy Mannering is not one of Scott's greatest novels. As a follow-up to his initial success in Waverley, it is a disappointing performance in many respects. In Waverley, Scott's 'Romanticism' is perfectly integrated into the novel, both through the hero's character, and through the depiction of the heroic culture of the Highland clans. Though remaining the most celebrated Romance character in the Waverley Novels, Meg no longer appears to dominate the novel in the way she did for Scott's contemporary readership. Near the beginning of the novel, Scott briefly recounts the history of the Bertrams, once the Mac-Dingawaies, lords of Galloway. The agency of Glossin's rise over his employer, Godfrey Bertram, is the law: very notably, all the ploys Glossin uses to effect acquisition, however morally reprehensible, are within the bounds of the law. Brown's alienation from his past is most explicit in the scene which follows his coach being forced to a standstill in the vicinity of Ellangowan.
