(Edinburgh: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brrown, 1820).

FIRST EDITION IN THE PRINTER'S ORIGINAL BOARDS. THE MONASTERY is an historical novel by Walter Scott, one of the Waverley novels, and is set in the Scottish Borders at Melrose Abbey in the 1550s on the eve of the Reformation. Scott had been contemplating THE MONASTERY before August 1819, and it seems likely that he started writing it in that month while the production of IVANHOE was at a standstill because of shortage of paper. He had determined on the title by the middle of the month. It also seems likely that he took up composition again shortly after finishing Ivanhoe in early November. He made good progress, and the third and final volume was at the press by the end of February 1820.
The action is centred on the Monastery of Kennaquhair, probably based on Melrose Abbey in south east Scotland, on the River Tweed. At this time, circa 1550, the Scottish Reformation is just beginning, and the monastery is in peril.
In the many conflicts between England and Scotland the property of the Church had hitherto always been respected; but her temporal possessions, as well as her spiritual influence, were now in serious danger from the spread of the doctrines of the Reformation, and the occupants of the monasteries were dependent on the military services of their tenants and vassals for protection against the forays of Protestant barons and other heretical marauders. Dame Elspeth's husband Simon had fallen in the battle of Pinkie (1547), and the hospitality of her lonely tower had been sought by the widow of the Baron of Avenel and her daughter Mary, whose mansion had been seized and plundered by invaders, and subsequently taken possession of by her brother-in-law Julian. While confessing the baroness on her death-bed, Father Philip discovered that she possessed a Bible. And so begins the plot.
Scott's landscape descriptions were generally judged excellent, as were the confrontations between the principal characters. The introductory epistles attracted high praise, with only a couple of dissenting voices. Item #30396

3 volumes. First Edition, with the half-titles as called for. 8vo, bound in the printer's original gray boards, the spines with printed lettering labels as issued. [4], 331; [4], 351; [4], 333 pp. An authentic set from the printer's workshop, the text-blocks all clean and crisp and very well preserved, the original printers boards with wear and evidence of age and use. A set in original state and with normal wear.