Editing Waverley (novel) (section)

===Plot summary===
Edward is at ease in the family estate owned by his uncle, Sir Everard Waverley, who maintains the family's traditional [[Tories (British political party)|Tory]] and [[Jacobitism|Jacobite]] sympathies. He spends time with his parents as well, though less time after his mother dies when he is about 12 or 13 years old. His [[British Whig Party|Whig]] father works for the [[House of Hanover|Hanoverian]] government in nearby [[Westminster]]. Edward has a sense of his honour, but he starts life with no political affiliation. Edward is given a commission in the Hanoverian army by his father and posted to [[Dundee]]. After some military training, he takes leave to visit the Baron of Bradwardine, a friend of his uncle, and meets the baron's lovely daughter Rose.

[[File: Walter Scott Waverley illustration (Pettie-Huth).jpg|thumb|Disbanded, Waverley in Highland garb, illustration to 1893 edition, by [[John Pettie|J Pettie]].]]
When wild Highlanders visit Bradwardine's castle, Edward is intrigued and goes to the mountain lair of the [[Scottish clan|Clan]] Mac-Ivor, meeting the Chieftain Fergus and his sister Flora, who turn out to be active Jacobites preparing for the insurrection. Edward has overstayed his leave and is accused of desertion and treason, then arrested. The highlanders rescue him from his escort and take him to the Jacobite stronghold at [[Doune Castle]], then on to [[Holyrood Palace]], where he meets Bonnie Prince Charlie, with whom he is charmed.

Encouraged by the beautiful Flora Mac-Ivor, Edward goes over to the Jacobite cause and takes part in the [[Battle of Prestonpans]] of September 1745. The battle is recounted in some detail. Undaunted by the light, inaccurate guns, the Highlander army continues its charge; however, the centre becomes bogged down in marshy land, and in driving forward the men's different speeds of advance cause them to form into a "V". One of the soldiers who tumbles into the marsh is the Hanoverian Colonel Talbot, whom Waverley picks up on his horse, saving his life. This man is a close friend of his Waverley uncle. Edward gets separated from Fergus and both their bands in one battle that the government troops were winning. Edward finds local people who take him in until he can leave safely after events are calmer and the snows are gone. He sees a newspaper that informs him that his father has died, so he heads to London.

When the Jacobite cause fails in 1746, Talbot intervenes to get Edward a pardon. Edward visits the decrepit estate of Baron Bradwardine, attacked by soldiers. After making contact with the baron, he asks for his daughter's hand in marriage, and soon is the established lover of Rose. The baron is also pardoned. Edward seeks Flora the day before her brother's trial; she plans to join a convent in France. Edward then  attends the trial in [[Carlisle, Cumbria|Carlisle]] at which Fergus Mac-Ivor is condemned to death, and is with him in the hours before his execution. Edward then returns to his uncle and aunt on the Waverley Honour and begins preparations for their wedding and also to make the legal appearances to assure the pardons of Edward and his future father-in-law. The Talbots restore the Baron's estate, taken from him for his Jacobite activities, and repair it completely, restored to the original appearance with Bradwardine's family crests. The Talbots bought their own estate near Waverley Honour, while the Baron's family estate is restored to his ownership by Edward Waverley, using the funds from selling his late father's home.