Sir Walter Scott was born in 1771 in Edinburgh. His love of traditional Scottish oral storytelling led him to gather ballads and stories, leading to the development of a body of literature which gave previously disregarded traditional stories a platform, and Scottish culture an international stage. Although primarily remembered for his extensive literary works and his political engagement, Scott was an advocate, judge and legal administrator by profession, and throughout his career combined his writing and editing work with his daily occupation as Clerk of Session and Sheriff-Depute of Selkirkshire. Frank Osbaldistone is the son of an English merchant who parted from his family home in the north of England near the border with Scotland when he was a young man, being of different religion and temperament than his own father or his younger brother. To resolve his problems, Frank travels into Scotland and meets the larger-than-life title character, Rob Roy MacGregor. Rob Roy was written at a time when many Europeans started regretting colonialism and imperialism, as reports circulated back of horrendous atrocities towards indigenous cultures. It was also a time when debates raged about the slave trade, the British occupation of India, and, more relevant to the novel, the disastrous effect of the Highland Clearances. You can listen online to free English audiobook “Rob Roy” by Sir Walter Scott on our website.
