Plea for Ragged Schools; or, Prevention Better than Cure-Thomas Guthrie

An historical novel by Sir Walter Scott, part of the Tales of My Landlord series, published anonymously in 1819. Based on a true story, it is set in south-east Scotland and (in this edition) in the reign of Queen Anne, after the 1707 Acts of Union which joined Scotland and England. It tells of a tragic love affair between young Lucy Ashton and Edgar Ravenswood, her family's enemy. Lady Ashton sets out to end their engagement and make Lucy marry a man better placed politically. - Summary by Gillian Hendrie