The Heart of Midlothian

The Heart of Midlothian (1818) by seminal Scottish writer Sir Walter Scott details the political turmoil occurring through Scotland in 1736, as well as one woman’s mission for justice. It was published under the pseudonym Jedediah Cleishbotham, and the identity of the author was revealed only posthumously. Of Scott’s numerous works, The Heart of Midlothian often ranks as one of his best.

Its themes include justice, honesty, and the value of religion.

The work opens to the Porteous Riots of 1736 in Edinburgh, Scotland. This was a mob reaction to the authoritarian Captain John Porteous, who ordered the death of three men who may or may not have stolen some goods. The men are being held in Old Tolbooth prison, which is at the epicenter of Midlothian county, the site of many public executions. Events related to the Porteous Riots take up most of the first volume.

Purportedly inspired by a letter Scott once received concerning a real woman named Helen Walker, he introduces the second major push of the novel, which centers around Jeanie Deans. After her younger sister, the beautiful yet spoiled Effie Deans, is incorrectly charged with killing her own baby, Jeanie—a highly moral and religious person—walks all the way to London to plead her sister’s case and receive a pardon from the king and queen of the U.K. Jeanie’s pilgrimage to the king and queen is the prime subject of the second volume.

Jeanie refuses to tell any lie to save her sister’s life and believes that appealing to the monarchy will help her case. Jeanie has a strong sense of right and wrong; her father, David Deans, once ran a nunnery and is a devoted Presbyterian.

But before she can reach the royal court, Jeanie has to contend with the mob of the Porteous Riots. The mob places any authority figures they see under their jurisdiction. This includes the young minister Reuben Butler, who happens to be in love with Jeanie. Reuben observes how during the prison break, Effie refuses to leave the prison; doing so would be akin to admitting she committed the crime to which she was charged. Reuben reports this scene to Jeanie, and Jeanie becomes further convinced that her sister is innocent.

The next time she visits the prison, Jeanie learns that the father of Effie’s baby is none other than Geordie Robertson, a charismatic criminal who actually sneaked into Old Tolbooth and hung Captain Porteous before his official execution. Effie hid the pregnancy from everyone, even her family members; since no one can attest to her giving birth, there is no evidence to suggest that she did not kill her baby.

Reuben Butler and Jeanie would like to be married, but Reuben currently makes too little money to support a family. When Jeanie tells him she’s going to walk to London to plead her sister’s case, Reuben tries to dissuade her, but to no avail. Eventually, he decides to help her mission. Recalling that his grandfather once gave the Duke of Argyll an invaluable favor, he writes an introductory letter for Jeanie and bids her success.

Getting to London by foot is no simple matter. Along with common vagabonds who haunt the roads, Jeanie is accosted by Meg Murdockson, an older woman (and probable witch) who hates Geordie Robertson and Effie Deans because her own daughter, Madge Wildfire, once loved Geordie, but he ditched for Effie. In fact, Madge stole Effie’s baby as punishment for their affair. To keep her from rescuing Effie, Meg goes so far as attempting to murder Jeanie.

In volume three, Jeanie meets the Duke of Argyll, who is impressed by her manners and her mission. He arranges for her to meet Queen Caroline (Queen of England from 1727-1737). The Queen is so moved by Jeanie’s conviction that she tells her husband, King George II, to issue a royal pardon.

Jeanie returns to Scotland. To her delight, she discovers that her father is the new manager of a valuable plot of land; the kind Duke of Argyll gave him this new honorific duty. Meanwhile, Rueben Butler has received a major promotion as a minister in Knocktarlitie. Now with enough money, Rueben and Jeanie become engaged. Jeanie’s father isn’t totally on board with the marriage (Reuben tries to educate everyone and is a bit annoying), but he considers it well and good that his daughter is marrying a minister.

In the last volume, Reuben and Jeanie have three children together. Effie’s future, however, is not nearly as happy. Though she marries George Staunton, a Scottish lord, Effie reveals that the son that everyone thought was murdered was actually sold to a work gang by the wicked Meg Murdockson. In fact, George Staunton is really Geordie Robertson, the guy who killed Captain Porteous and seduced Effie in the first place.

Later, when the boy comes of age, he returns to Scotland to murder his father. He successfully shoots and kills Sir Staunton, before fleeing to the U.S., where is never heard from again.

Now a widow, Effie moves to London. She seems to enjoy high-life society, but eventually shocks her sister by announcing she’s moving to France to become a nun. Jeanie is stunned that her sister would give up the Protestant religion she grew up with to become Roman Catholic.