Book Review - "Abbotsford and Newstead Abbey" by Washington Irving

Abbotsford and Newstead Abbey
By Washington Irving

So it turns out that the author of Sleepy Hollow - Washington Irving- was also an investigative journalist/biographer.

In this book he details a weekend stay with the famous Sir Walter Scott, author of Ivanhoe. Scott actually lived the romantic life of a big time, celebrity author. He lived on a massive estate where he built his dream “cottage”. He had a happy family life and pack of faithful dogs who were very close to him. There are more paintings of him with his dogs than his kids.

It’s fascinating to see his daily life and to hear thoughts of the time. For ex he once saw a Sequoia tree from America which he revered as being similar in value to the obelisks from Egypt in that they similarly protected the natives. He was a Scottish nationalist who honored the border clans for keeping Scotland safe from England and treasured the Scottish culture. This is a painting of an out building on his lands.

Part 2 covers Newstead Abbey located in Sherwood Forest - Lord Byron’s ancestral home. The abbey is like all things Byronic - from afar they look boldly romantic, but when examined closely they’re tawdry and underwhelming. His is a tale of inherited near-wealth, unearned privilege and aggressive laxitude. Not entirely due to his fault, only a few rooms of the abbey were actually furnished and liveable. The others were used for fun and games - including digging up skulls and placing coffins about. He left England to help the Greeks defeat the Ottoman empire during which fight he died early. Again, sounds heroic, but he left also to escape debts and babies and scandal. And despite that gloriously romantic photo we have of him, he was overweight and treated women poorly.

It is though valuable to read Irving’s account as he visits the home just a few years after Byron’s death. ( The housekeepers who knew him and even the dog that accompanied his body back to England were still alive. ) Also, Irving gives an account of the relics of Robin Hood’s haunts in Sherwood. Those are less convincing chapters, but whether true or lore, that part is actually romantic.