Memoirs of the Life of Sir Walter Scott, Bart.
Sir Walter Scott to James Ballantyne 8 December 1830
“Abbotsford, 8th Dec. 1830.
“If I were like other authors, as I flatter myself I
am not, I should send you ‘an order on my treasurer for a hundred
ducats, wishing you all prosperity and a little
more taste;’* but having never supposed
that any abilities I ever had were of a perpetual texture, I am glad when
friends tell me what I might be long in finding out myself. Mr Cadell will show you what I have written to
him. My present idea is to go abroad for a few months, if I hold together as
long. So ended the Fathers of the Novel—Fielding and Smollett—and it would be no unprofessional finish for yours,
James Ballantyne (1772-1833)
Edinburgh printer in partnership with his younger brother John; the company failed in the
financial collapse of 1826.
Robert Cadell (1788-1849)
Edinburgh bookseller who partnered with Archibald Constable, whose daughter Elizabeth he
married in 1817. After Constable's death and the failure of Ballantyne he joined with Scott
to purchase rights to the
Waverley Novels.
Henry Fielding (1707-1754)
English dramatist, essayist, and novelist; author of
Joseph
Andrews (1742) and
The History of Tom Jones (1749).
Tobias Smollett (1721-1771)
Scottish physician and man of letters; author of the novels
Roderick
Random (1747) and
Humphry Clinker (1771).