Sir Walter Scott, Queen Victoria, the railways, and Scottish Romanticism

This work examines the role Sir Walter Scott, Queen Victoria, and the railways played in the rise and popularization of a romantic, mythic Scotland. Scott's works captured the imagination and were used as guidebooks when traveling in the northern kingdom. Victoria grew up reading Scott's works, and his romantic ideals of a mythic Scotland shaped her views of Scotland. The royal family visited Scotland three times before they leased the Balmoral estate. With the acquisition of this estate, the royal family had a Highland home. Railways facilitated the monarch's travel to Scotland and allowed others a relatively cheap method of visiting the romantic wilds of the country.