Quentin Durward
by Scott, Sir Walter
Quentin Durward is a historical novel by Walter Scott, first published in 1823. The story concerns a Scottish archer in the service of the French King Louis XI.
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On Aug 15, 2021, Anonymous said
I would like my grandson to read this. The protagonist is a prime example of the stoic virtues, high mindedness, confidence, cheerfulness, endurance and industriousness. This is a woefully neglected topic these days. The author seems to have learned from Shakespeare, in terms of language and the utilization of the universal themes: life, love, work, warfare, kings, revenge, and so on. Scott portrays a cross section of humanity, with a sympathetic understanding of both commoner and king. The author seems to revel in dialog, both in the folk idioms of the court executioner, in the clever wranglings of the barber (and chief advisor) to the king, and the ascerbic, intricate political machinations of Louis XI. Well researched, a vivid portrayal of the times. Surprisingly entertaining. One isolated chapter of stereotypical female character pearl-clutching and the spouting of idealized pietism. Interesting to read a book that does not rely on metaphor, that is almost exclusively complete sentences. Surprising that the bad old technique of telling, as opposed to showing, can be so effective in reenacting a battlescene. Nowadays such a scene would be written in a clipped manner. The author furnishes the reader with a LOT of information, details, details. A thing of inestimable value IMHO, the reliability of the author as a reporter of truth. The characters' reactions are realistic. There are seldom improbabilities. Scott does not gloss over the ugly realities of warfare. Lances penetrate eyeballs and go into the brain. The bishop's throat is cut in the middle of a victory feast. The only exception, to the degree of plausible realism, is the fact that his protagonist always seems to have a perfectly composed speech on the spur of the moment. He speaks the way we might speak, if we had a few hours to think about it. This is not to say that it is necessarily bad, because it does convey the concept of heroism. In regards to Durward's prowess in battle, that is dealt with realistically. He has narrow escapes, his helmet is bashed in. When there is an opportunity for him to defeat one of the chief villains, he is off somewhere, escorting some ladies off the battlefield. If I might bring up Dickens. Dickens in comparison, is more imaginative, in coming up with creative uses of language. Some of his characters are either caracatures or are intended for comic relief, with the realistic and the comic dealt with as separate modes of writing belonging to the same narrative. Some of Dickens' characters are overly sentimental. There may be comic characters, with Scott, but they silliness is over after a couple of sentences. There is the influence Scott had on writers of fiction and history. Scott, inventor of the historic novel. James Fennimore Cooper. Robert Louis Stevenson. Goethe. Emil Ludwig, author of the history, "Napoleon." Mark Twain wrote that the South needed to get over the writings of Walter Scott, because Scott had filled the minds of the young southern men with romantic notions of chivalry, heroism and warfare, probably contributing to war positivity. Which takes me back to the beginning, to the value of Scott's books in helping to instill in boys the traditional male virtues. Maybe we have let the pendulum swing too far. Moderation in all things. The branch becomes more and more brittle the farther you venture from the main stem. Yes, Walter Scott is an important author to read. He may be just what is needed, a remedy for our times. Dicken's books seem to focus on informing the public on the need for social reform, while Scott's seem to focus on instilling individual virtue, while also providing a backdrop of the injustices after--and possibly as a consequence of--Scotland's unification with England. Another of Scott's major themes is the accomodation necessary for persons, accustomed to practicing the archaic virtues of an earlier era, to conform to a new regime with more laws and regulations. One deslt with social constructs, the othe with the individual. Scott's program would be applicable under any social system, in any country, at any time.
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Quentin Durward
by Sir Walter Scott.
- Condition
- Used - Very Good+
- Jacket Condition
- No Jacket
- Edition
- Reprint
- Published
- 1927
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Binghamton, New York, USA
- Item Price
-
£13.16
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New York: Dodd, Mead, 1927. Reprint . Hardcover. Very Good+/No Jacket. Art by Percy Tarrant. 30683 CF shelf. NOT ex-library. Gold-stamped dark blue cloth; lovely paste-down on front cover w/ small scratch; spine lettering lightly rubbed. No names, clean text. No bookplate. With 16 stunning color plates.
Item Price
£13.16
Quentin Durward
by Scott, Sir Walter
- Condition
- Used - Very Good
- Jacket Condition
- Very Good
- Edition
- No Additional Printings Listed
- Published
- 1928
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Batavia, Illinois, USA
- Item Price
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£10.28
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Dodd, Mead & Co, 1928. No Additional Printings Listed. Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. Percy Tarrant. NOT an ex library book. Dark blue book with paste on plate on cover. Prior owner name with 1986 date top of front endpaper. 16 color plates. Clean interior pages. Dust jacket has minimal war on spine ends.… Read more about this item Item Price
£10.28
Quentin Durward
by Scott, Sir Walter
- Condition
- Used - Very Good-
- Jacket Condition
- No Jacket
- Published
- 1924
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
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Austin, Minnesota, USA
- Item Price
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£9.04
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Dodd, Mead, 1924. Book. Very Good-. Hardcover. Binding a little shaken. . Item Price
£9.04
Quentin Durward
by Sir Walter Scott
- Condition
- Used - Acceptable
- Published
- January 1924
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
APPLETON, Wisconsin, USA
- Item Price
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£6.58
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Dodd, Mead and Company, New York, January 1924. Hardcover. Used - Acceptable. First book has a $3.75 shipping fee, there is no additional shipping fee for addition books from our store. All of our books are in clean, readable condition (unless noted otherwise). Our books generally have a store sticker on the inside cover with our in… Read more about this item Item Price
£6.58
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Quentin Durward
by Sir Walter Scott
- Condition
- Used - Good
- Edition
- First edition
- Published
- 1823
- Binding
- Leather
- Quantity Available
- 1
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BATH, Somerset, GBR
- Item Price
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£170.00
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Edinburgh: Archibald Constable and Co, 1823. First edition. Leather. Good. 7.5" by 5". None. A first edition of Sir Walter Scott's Quentin Durward, in attractive leather binding. Complete in three volumes, the work concerns itself with a Scottish archer in the service of the French King Louis XI, and is an excellent example of the both Scott's historical… Read more about this item Item Price
£170.00
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Quentin Durward
by Scott, Sir Walter
- Condition
- Used
- Edition
- First Edition
- Published
- 1823
- Quantity Available
- 1
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Scottsdale, Arizona, USA
- Item Price
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£185.00
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Edinburgh: for Archibald Constable and Co, 1823. First Edition. Small Octavo. In three volumes. 273, 331 and 360pp. The story is set in 15th-century France. Quentin Durward saves the life of Louis XI, protects and falls in love with Countess Isabelle de Croye (a Burgundian heiress) and, helps defeat the king's brutal enemy, and wins Isabelle's hand in marriage.… Read more about this item Item Price
£185.00
Quentin Durward
by Sir Walter Scott
- Condition
- Used;Very Good
- Published
- 1928
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
South Lyon, Michigan, USA
- Item Price
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£10.69
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Dodd, Mead and Company, 1928. Hardcover. Used;Very Good. New York, 1928; blue cloth covered boards; corners bumped; spine edges frayed; illustration plate pasted to front board; 8vo - over 7 3/4" to 9 3/4" tall; interior clean and unmarked; 499 pages. Item Price
£10.69
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QUENTIN DURWARD
by Sir Walter Scott
- Condition
- Used - VG++-Near FINE
- Jacket Condition
- No Jacket as Issued
- Edition
- Early Printing
- Published
- 1881
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Mansonville, Quebec, CAN
- Item Price
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£41.07
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Description:
London- UK: Marcus Ward & Co., 1881. QUENTIN DURWARD- Sir Walter Scott, Bart.-Illustrated- Marcus Ward & Co. - London- ND- 1878 (according to research)- Hardcover:-12mo-VG++-Near FINE/ no dj as issued- 1/4 blue leather original publishers dark blue cloth with gilt bust of Scott on cover- 432pp are clean, no tears or writing- with b&w illustrations throughout- A nicer copy you… Read more about this item Item Price
£41.07
Quentin Durward
by Scott, Sir Walter
- Condition
- Used - Acceptable
- Quantity Available
- 1
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Victoria, British Columbia, CAN
- Item Price
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£12.32
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Collins Clear Type Press. Used - Acceptable. Leatherbound. Item Price
£12.32
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Quentin Durward
by Sir Walter Scott
- Condition
- Used - Good-
- Jacket Condition
- Fair
- Published
- 1924
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Hudson, New Hampshire, USA
- Item Price
-
£37.00
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Description:
Nicely illustrated, vintage copy of "QUENTIN DURWARD" by Sir Walter Scott - uncommon with its original dust jacket. 1924; Charles Scribner's Sons; New York. This edition features an illustrated title page in color, and nine full-page color plates by C. Bosseron Chambers. Illustrated end papers in color. The story concerns a Scottish archer in the service of the French King… Read more about this item Item Price
£37.00
Quentin Durward
by Scott, Sir Walter
- Condition
- Used - G
- Published
- 1928
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
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Sebago, Maine, USA
- Item Price
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£11.51
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Description:
NY: Dodd Mead. G. 1928. Pictorial paste down of 3 men on blue binding with gilt lettering. Edge wear, one corner of paste down chipped, corners . bumped. Based upon a time when the feudal system was beginning to be abandoned & egotism of the individual was taking over. However overstrained & fantastic many of the doctrines of chivalry… Read more about this item Item Price
£11.51
Quentin Durward (Everyman's Library #140)
by SCOTT, Sir Walter
- Condition
- Used - Near Fine in Very Good dust jacket
- Published
- 1969
- Binding
- Hardcover
- ISBN
- 9780460001403
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Littleton, Colorado, USA
- Item Price
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£21.38
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Description:
London / New York: Everyman's Library - J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd. / E. P. Dutton & Co., Inc.. Near Fine in Very Good dust jacket. 1969. Hardcover. 046000140X . A 1969 reprint of a work which first appeared in an Everyman's Library edition in 1906. Sir Walter Scott's 1823 historical novel is set in 15th century… Read more about this item Item Price
£21.38
Quentin Durward
by Scott, Sir Walter
- Condition
- Used - Acceptable
- Published
- 1924
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Seattle, Washington, USA
- Item Price
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£11.88
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Description:
Dodd, Mead, 1924. Hardcover. Acceptable. Former library book; Missing dust jacket; Readable copy. Pages may have considerable notes/highlighting. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed. Item Price
£11.88
Quentin Durward
by Sir Walter Scott
- Condition
- Used - Very Good
- Published
- 1901
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Peebles, Scottish Borders, GBR
- Item Price
-
£9.99
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Description:
Thomas Nelson and Sons. Hardcover. Very Good. Condition: Very Good; Interior clean copy, no markings. Front tissue paper has some foxing. Illustrations. Boards clean and tight. Gilt titles to spine on maroon covers. Item Price
£9.99
Quentin Durward
by Sir Walter Scott
- Condition
- Used - Acceptable
- Published
- 1902
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Goring-by-Sea, West Sussex, GBR
- Item Price
-
£5.39
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Description:
Macmillan and Co., 1902. Hardcover. Acceptable. 1902. Reprinted. 663 pages. No dust jacket. Green cloth with gilt lettering. Contains black and white plates throughout. Rough cut textblock edges. Pages are moderately tanned and foxed throughout. Sticker to front pastedown. Thumb-marking present. Noticeable creasing to gutter. Cracking to gutters, with exposed netting. Boards have moderate edge-wear with bumping to… Read more about this item Item Price
£5.39
Quentin Durward
by Sir Walter Scott
- Condition
- Used - Acceptable
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Goring-by-Sea, West Sussex, GBR
- Item Price
-
£3.12
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Description:
W.P. Nimmo, Hay, & Mitchell, 1111. Hardcover. Acceptable. No Edition Remarks. 384 pages. No dust jacket. Red cloth. Pages are moderately tanned and foxed throughout. Thumb-marking present. Grubby pages throughout. Notable creasing to gutter. Boards have moderate edge-wear with bumping to corners and rubbing to surfaces. Soft crushing to spine ends. Noticeable tanning to spine and edges. Black… Read more about this item Item Price
£3.12
Quentin Durward
by Sir Walter Scott
- Condition
- Used - Acceptable
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Goring-by-Sea, West Sussex, GBR
- Item Price
-
£6.98
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Description:
Collins, 1111. Hardcover. Acceptable. No Edition Remarks. 623 pages. No dust jacket. Burgundy cloth. Contains black and white illustrations. Pages and binding are presentable with no major defects. Minor issues present such as mild cracking, inscriptions, inserts, light foxing, tanning and thumb marking. Boards have moderate shelf wear, with rubbing and marking. Light bumping to corners and crushing… Read more about this item Item Price
£6.98
Quentin Durward
by Scott, Sir Walter
- Condition
- Used
- Edition
- 1st edition thus.
- Published
- 1898
- Binding
- Hardback
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Newbury, Berkshire, GBR
- Item Price
-
£10.00
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Description:
J M Dent - Temple Edition of the Waverley Novels, 1898. 1st edition thus.. Hardback. Cloth, VG. 2 volumes, lii+302pp, 367pp, b/w frontis to each volume, top edge gilt, pages uncut, endpapers yellowed, cloth a little rubbed along the edges, a fair set. The Temple Edition of the Waverley Novels. Scott's story concerning a Scottish archer in the… Read more about this item Item Price
£10.00
Quentin Durward
by SCOTT, Sir Walter
- Condition
- Used - Very Good
- Published
- 1900
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Gloucester City, New Jersey, USA
- Item Price
-
£16.44
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Description:
London: Thomas Nelson and Sons, 1900. Hardcover. Very Good. Reprint. 16mo. 568pp. Blue cloth, gilt-stamped spine title. Spine cocked a bit, spine ends lightly bumped, very good lacking the dustwrapper. Item Price
£16.44
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QUENTIN DURWARD
by SCOTT, SIR WALTER
- Condition
- Used - Very Good
- Published
- 1927
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Brampton, Ontario, CAN
- Item Price
-
£20.51
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Description:
London: Macmillan and Co Limited, 1927. Hardcover. Very Good. London: Macmillan and Co Limited, 1927. Very Good. Embossed cloth covers, shelf wear. Page 71 to 74 has corner cut out, pages 231 to 250 are cut straight about 1 inch, po signature, 5.75inch tall. <br/><br/> Item Price
£20.51