Rob Roy

Rob Roy is set against the backdrop of the Jacobite Rebellion of 1715, which aimed to restore the Stuart monarchy in the person of James Edward, the 'Old Pretender, son of the deposed James II. The tale is told in the first person by a young Englishman, Francis ('Frank') Osbaldistone. A would-be poet, Frank falls out with his father, William, due to his reluctance to enter the family business. Frank is sent north to Northumbria to stay with his Jacobite uncle, Sir Hildebrand Osbaldistone, and his place in William's counting-house goes to Sir Hildebrand's scheming son Rashleigh. Frank falls in love with Sir Hildebrand's niece, Diana Vernon who lives in Osbaldistone Hall. Her father Sir Frederick, a proscribed Jacobite, lives there too in the guise of a monk, Father Vaughan. Sir Frederick has destined Diana for a convent unless she marries one of Sir Hildebrand's six sons. Diana, then, cannot listen to Frank's suit but, when Rashleigh flees to Scotland with vital financial documents, she assists him in his attempts to restore his father's honor and credit. Frank enlists the help of Bailie Nicol Jarvie, a Glasgow business correspondent of his father, and both proceed to the Highlands to bid Rob Roy, a political dependent of the Vernons, to intervene. Rashleigh is compelled to restore the company assets, and Frank returns to England where he is reconciled with his father. Meanwhile, the Jacobite rebellion breaks out. Sir Hildebrand's other five sons are all killed in the fighting, and he himself dies shortly afterward of grief. Rashleigh, who has become an informer, is killed by Rob Roy during an attempt on Frank's life. Sir Frederick escapes to France, leaving Diana free to decide her future. The path is thus clear for Frank to inherit Osbaldistone Hall and marry Diana.