Fragment return leads to poem talk

The fragment of the original manuscript of the Lay of the Last Minstrel is heading to Abbotsford.

Sir Walter Scott’s epic Borders poem The Lay of the Last Minstrel is being explored at the January meeting of the Melrose Literary Society, ahead of a fragment of the originalmanuscript going on display at the author’s home.

The Society is delighted to be hosting the richly illustrated talk before the only surviving

fragment of Scott’s manuscript goes on public display at his ancestral home, Abbotsford,

near Melrose, at a future date. The manuscript returned to Abbotsford after a UK wide

The guest speaker will be Malcolm Morrison.

consortium of libraries, literary organisations and museums purchased it as part of the

Blavatnik Honresfield Library collection.

Guest speaker, Malcolm Morrison, a former guide at Abbotsford, will reveal the romance,

feuds, revenge, sorcery and history of Borders life, as imagined by Scotland’s greatest writer

at the start of his illustrious literary career.

Malcolm, a past President of the Literary Society, said: “I am delighted to be able to discuss

Scott’s epic poem, especially as we are hoping to see the original manuscript at Abbotsford

at some point in the future.

“Scott published it in 1805 and it was an instant success, with 21 editions published in

Scott’s lifetime. Wordsworth said he was delighted by it and other authors sang its praises;

John Buchan declared it contained passages which few Romantic poets had equalled.”

All are welcome to attend Malcolm’s talk, which will be on Tuesday 17th January, at 7.30pm,

in the Ormiston Institute, Melrose. Admission is £4 (cash only).